Funny Story worth the read

My father and I were out on a ride this last weekend at a place called Otter Creek in New York. We noticed a lot of english riders wearing protective helmets with a lot of fancy tack and saddles. We felt out of place being Texas/Arizona western type riders but got a kick out of it.

Anyways they noticed we were wearing cowboy hats instead of helmets and one of the ladies riding amongst others said "you might want to wear a helmet around here, it's not safe around here without one". My dad couldn't help but notice the boots she was wearing were not actual riding boots and responded "you might want to invest in some real riding boots, a lot more people get killed getting their foot stuck in the stirrup because they are wearing something like what you are than getting bumping their head the wrong way.

Anyways to make a long story short a couple of quads ripped buy them while a couple of them were peeing behind the trees and they did not have their horses tied off right and they took off. One of the other ladies that was on the horse was bucked off and the horses took off up the hill. They had no way to catch their horses hence they are english riders and did not have a rope. My dad ended up spending over 4 hourse tracking horses down and bringing them back since the one horse they had their and rider had no clue what to do. He tracked down these 3 horses while the ladies were sitting on their behinds.

Thought I would share. It was funny if you were there. I do have a new prjeduce though. Liberal horseback riding ladies with bicycle helmets who don't know what the heck they are doing. If you are going to ride a 16 hand thoroughbred horse or a green as hell mustang, know what you are doing before you climb on. Know the basics like what side of the horse to get on and off... What you should wear and not wear when riding eg. Shoes or work boots. What to have just in case your horse/s get loose. Know how to tie them off properly so they don't get loose.

Take care ladies and gents,
Bucky

Great story. I think everyone should know basics of horses/riding before leaving an enclosured arena.

Still something.. I think it doesn't depend on your riding style. There's also many talented english riders who can cope with fled horses all well. I'm also firmly for helmets. Why do you just don't maximize your safety, especially when head injures can cause severe damage(s)? Though I understand them aren't a part of western riding.

Just my 2 cents .

That was a good couple pennies you added there. If I was a female I might have a totoally different opinion on the matter who knows. I have been riding all of my life and have been bitten, stepped on, bucked off and kicked more times than I can remember. I have been lucky thus far with only minor injuries none of which stopped me from riding other than the time I was kicked in no-mans-land.

Thanks for the reply,
Bucky