Re: maybe we should talk about helmets for a while...

[NazeerDrmr@aol.com]

Hello Everyone
   I too would like to add my two cents worth on the helmet issue just in case
there may be one last die hard out there thinking it's cool to go unprotected.
   I also have ridden and trained for years. When I was eight I got started
with a western pleasure trainer. Then at 12 I was a ranch hand hanging out in
Torrance California. My friends and mine idea of a good ride was gathering up
our scraggly little herd of horses and ponies in the wee hours of the morning
and hit the road, train tracks where ever we knew was a welcoming stable where
we could rest throughout the day and water the horses. We would loop from
Torrance to Palos Verde's (the rich kids horses) and get back hopefully at
sunset.
   I never thought about safety till I met my mentor Diane in Riverside Ca who
always wore a helmet. She also told me about this AERC thing where people
actually competed on long rides! Since then I have hoped to ride with you all.
Anyway I was working as a wrangler on a guest ranch in Hawaii where my helmet
was frowned on. (maybe the guests would get spooked) Well after 8 months the
safety risks were too much and I quit. Two weeks later I get the horrifying
news that my best friend, birthday buddy guide, had a freak fall and busted
her skull open from her nose to the back of her head. She miraculously
survived but without memory. She is a great rider. It was a simple accident.
OK guys ..don't ride without it.
Love,
Kathleen