From: Karen Sullivan
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2001 11:24 PM
To: ridecamp@endurance.net; Marv Walker
Subject: RC: Re: Re: Injury/death figures
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marv Walker" <Marv@MarvWalker.com>
>
> When she would ask me something like, "Do you know the predominant
> victims are..." I'd jump in and answer, "14 to 16 year old girls." And
then
> she'd say, "Right. And most accidents occur
I seem to recall reading somewhere that the predominant group to get hurt
were middle aged women on green horses....I keep reminding myself of that!
Karen
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One of the many reasons why I love endurance like I do is you just don't see that many stupid accidents while attending one. You see a lot of near misses (old air traffic control term, sorry) but not too many direct hits. My theory on this is that endurance riders, and even endurance wannabes, are better equestrians, on average, than most other riders. They have the confidence, knowledge and ability, and if they don't possess these traits they either don't show up for a ride, or make sure they have a sponsor who will keep them safe. Endurance riders are survivors; top of the food chain and they are my personal heroes, each and every one.
The irony is our sport is not a safe one. It's on the edge of danger, most equestrians consider it an extreme sport. But because of our great vets and experienced ride managers, somehow, we seem to be able to keep the numbers of injuries down. Not only to the horse, but, also, to the rider. My theory (I got lots of theories) on that one is it's cause we keep the money out of the sport (so far, anyway). We're riding for T-Shirts, and as lovely as some of them are, it's not enough to ride so hard and so fast that you go by a rider who is down or ignore a loose horse. You will stop and help; it's just the endurance way. And it's why I don't want to see our sport change on ioda from where it is right now. Why mess with something this close to perfection?
I know I'm not the nicest, kindest, gentlest person in the world, but when I'm on the trail at a ride, if you need help, I will stop. No matter what, no matter who you are (even that woman from North Georgia), I will stop (if I can; my horse is kind of crazy on that first loop). And I'm purty confident that most of my fellow riders feel the same way, although some of them might pass me by if I'm down, but that's OK, I probably said or did something that really pissed them off.
Anyway, Marv, do your studies at the endurance rides and the equestrian injury statistics will come way down. We won't even make the top ten in accidents, no matter how you adjust the statistics. We do take care of our own. And no one, in any other equestrian activity, does it better.
cya,
Howard (in three days I'll be in Georgia doing a very SAFE endurance ride; I can't wait to get there. And, Carla, I promise not to drink and ride my horse.)