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Helmet Awareness Silva’s accident was very similar to Courtney King-Dye’s ac- cident four years before. Courtney, an Olympic dressage rider, was not wearing a helmet when the horse that she was schooling tripped and she fell and hit her head. Court- ney was in a coma for four weeks after her accident, and she then spent three months in therapy learning how to walk and talk again. Four years later, the traumatic brain injury still affects


Courtney’s coordination and speech. She gave birth to her first child this year, but still struggles with small daily tasks and needs help to care for her child. She is able to teach and give clinics, but her riding goals are currently focused on finding the right horse for para-equestrian competition. Courtney’s accident inspired the launch of Riders4Helmets, a helmet advocacy group that commemorated the first In- ternational Helmet Awareness Day on July 12, 2010, and has continued to honor that day annually since. The organization partners with helmet manufacturers to offer discounts. It was largely due to Courtney’s wholehearted efforts


to promote helmet awareness that Silva, who often used to school without one, was wearing a helmet the day of her accident. In August, Silva presented the Charles Owen Equestrian Role Model Award at the Millbrook Horse Trials Benefit Luncheon to Courtney, the person who arguably saved her life. The Charles Owen Equestrian Role Model Award carries with it a $5,000 cash prize to be donated to the charity of


the winner’s choice, and Courtney gave her check to Rider- s4Helmets, which started a helmet revolution in the U.S. and beyond, ultimately encouraging other awareness operations like evention.com’s popular #mindyourmelon campaign. “Courtney has done an amazing job promoting hel-


mets. I’m not one of these people who obsess about wear- ing helmets and I don’t like it when people tell you what to do, but now I can’t believe it when people ride without one. It’s definitely not cool. Same thing with the top hats in dressage; it has a long history and I can totally appreci- ate the look, but to me the look has changed. I think a hel- met doesn’t look out of place. Courtney was one of the most beautiful riders around and her horse just tripped, same as mine. That can happen in the dressage ring, walking to the ring, wherever, and if you don’t wear a helmet, chances are you’re going to be in bad shape.”


Editor’s note: Silva’s results at Dressage Devon were excellent. She earned a fourth in the 6-Year-Old FEI test on Benefactor RRS. And on Rosa Cha W, in the CDI3*, she placed third in the Open Prix St. Georges (out of 46), seventh in the Intermediare 1 (out of 45) and third in the Intermediare 1 freestyle (out of 15).


S S STABLES Pure Spanish Andalusians (Pura Raza Española – PRE) Iberian Sporthorses for


the competitive


Dressage arena with the Iberian willingness for the professional or amateur rider.


Bloodlines from Aquilino Moya, Ecija (Sevilla), Spain, from mares registered in the Stud Book of Spain and bred to Stallions of Quality in the U.S.


Afton, Virginia, USA 540-456-8520 or karen@usprehorse.com


www.usprehorse.com Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/USPREHorse


34 November/December 2014


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