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Don't the elite of dressage riders need head protection?
Isabell Werth (2nd from left) wants to have a choice
Photo:
WEREK / imago images
From 2021, dressage riders at international tournaments will have to swap their cylinder for a riding helmet - for safety reasons.
The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) decided to tighten the helmet requirement at the end of 2019; after a transitional year, the FEI confirmed it at its General Assembly in November.
From next year helmets are compulsory for all FEI disciplines except vaulting.
Some dressage riders resisted the new rule.
Including Isabell Werth, who had campaigned for freedom of choice.
"The top international riders are grown up and experienced enough to decide for themselves whether they want to wear a helmet or a top hat," the six-time Olympic champion told the sports information service: A petition was drawn up and a survey of the top 100 started, according to Werth.
97 percent of those questioned are in favor of free choice - at least in the public exams.
Nothing ever happened in the top classes.
Isabell Werth is the most successful dressage rider in the world - here she wears a top hat
Photo: A3796 Uwe Anspach / dpa
Werth also received support from national coach Monica Theodorescu.
141 dressage riders, 75 of whom are among the top 100 in the world rankings, signed the petition, including »Reiter Revue« and »St.
Georg «reported.
In response to a request from SPIEGEL, the German Equestrian Association (FN) also emphasizes that it is generally recommended that all riders wear a helmet.
The argumentation from the circle of dressage riders and trainers can be understood and has therefore spoken out in favor of the freedom of choice for adult riders at the world association.
It didn't help.
The FEI rejected the petition that the objection deadline had expired after the first decision in autumn 2019.
Not everyone shared the arguments of Werth & Co. In the US federation, the helmet has been compulsory for a long time, the World Cup runner-up Laura Graves compared it to a seat belt in a car - nobody questions that either.
The specialist Julia Schmidt sees it similarly.
At the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), she also looks after the professional squad in a consultation hour for equestrians.
In an interview, she talks about head injuries in equestrian sports and the role model function of top athletes.
SPIEGEL:
Dr.
Schmidt, how common are head injuries in equestrian sports?
Schmidt:
In Germany, in contrast to the USA or Great Britain, there are comparatively few studies on the subject.
But it can be said that up to 30 percent of all equestrian accidents affect the head.
That is around ten percent more than in football, where the head is actively used in the game.
About the person: Julia Schmidt
Icon: enlargePhoto: Julia Schmidt
Julia Schmidt
is a specialist in orthopedics, trauma surgery and sports medicine.
As deputy medical director
she offers a consultation hour for equestrians at the UKE in cooperation with the regional association of riding and driving clubs Hamburg eV.
At the DOSB-certified "Athleticum" center, she also looks after the professional squad up to the Olympic squad.
As part of the AG Equestrian Safety of the UKE, she conducts research on the subject of accident prevention and riding accidents.
She supports the FN's »#helmhelden« campaign.
Schmidt herself was a dressage rider up to class S.
SPIEGEL:
What kind of head injuries can riders experience?
Schmidt:
Riders can fall from the horse as well as with the horse, the so-called rollover trauma.
Accidents can also occur when handling the animal, for example in the form of kicks.
The spectrum of possible head injuries ranges from lacerations, bruises, facial and skull fractures to cranial brain trauma.
This also includes the classic concussion.
This is still too rarely diagnosed because symptoms such as headache, nausea or temporary memory loss are taken lightly and are not always associated with brief loss of consciousness.
In severe cases, traumatic brain injuries can lead to cerebral haemorrhage, coma, long-term cognitive damage and even death.
These serious injuries are relatively rare.
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SPIEGEL:
How does a helmet protect the head?
Schmidt:
You are not invulnerable just because you wear a helmet.
However, this can reduce the risk of severe head trauma by 40 to 50 percent.
And that is the most important.
SPIEGEL:
You are a doctor, but also a dressage rider yourself.
Do you understand those voices that have spoken out against compulsory helmets?
Schmidt:
I can understand that people are attached to traditions like the cylinder, but for me that cannot be an argument.
On the contrary: There are no restrictions whatsoever in dressage due to wearing a helmet.
Questions of style should not be placed above security either.
The British Charlotte Dujardin has been wearing a helmet for many years - including at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, when she won the gold medal both individually and with the team.
I saw her and her horse there.
A helmet cannot detract from the elegance of your ride.
She set a great example by using the helmet in the really big tests.
"A helmet cannot affect the elegance of your ride."
Julia Schmidt on Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin
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Charlotte Dujardin with Valegro: with the gelding she won three Olympic gold - and with a helmet (picture from 2013)
Photo: Henning Bagger / picture alliance / dpa
SPIEGEL:
Is dressage less dangerous than other disciplines?
Schmidt:
Riding is a dangerous sport, you don't have to dramatize it, but accept it.
Especially the versatility and the jumping sport are risky due to the obstacles and the speed.
But it is not that nothing happens in dressage.
The most prominent proponent of helmets in the discipline is arguably Courtney King-Dye, who fell while training with her horse in 2010 and was in a coma for four weeks with severe traumatic brain injury.
Then she had to learn to speak and walk again.
Dujardin has also been wearing the helmet since she sustained a broken skull in a riding accident.
SPIEGEL:
So you don't think much of the argument that you don't have to tell the most successful riders what to wear on their heads?
Schmidt:
No, King-Dye and Dujardin both rode at the Olympics and they still had accidents.
This can happen to any rider, it is neither embarrassing nor does it have anything to do with skill.
Even the most experienced Grand Prix horse can stretch, trip, or fall.
I therefore support the FEI rules.
Why should there be different rules for different disciplines?
It's about making the sport safer.
"Even in dressage you have to accept and implement the role model function as a competitive athlete"
Julia Schmidt
SPIEGEL:
Do top athletes serve as role models?
Schmidt:
I also examine and advise many senior athletes.
Membership in a management not only enables certain sporting opportunities, but also means obligations.
That includes sticking to the rules.
The riders also have a responsibility towards popular sport.
If equestrian sports are broadcast on television, these are of course the four or five star
tests
(
highest classes, note dr
).
And that's exactly where some athletes didn't want to wear a helmet.
It was said that it was okay in the warm-up area and at the award ceremony.
I can not comprehend that.
The tests are also watched by young people, who see their idol with the top hat sitting on the horse and then want to ride like that.
In dressage, too, you have to accept and implement the role model function as a competitive athlete.
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SPIEGEL:
What would you recommend to riders if an accident occurs?
What should you do after that?
Schmidt:
You should get a medical examination if you injured your head while handling the horse or if it was affected when you fell.
Especially when there is a headache or nausea.
Some patients only feel unwell for a short time, but can still have a concussion - and it must be diagnosed and treated accordingly.
I also recommend that you do not climb straight back up after a fall with your head involved, but rather take care of yourself.
Like a twisted ankle or a sprained thumb, an injured head needs rest.
In other sports, for example football, there are clear recommendations for the "return to sport" after head injuries, such as gradually increasing the load and, if necessary, having another neurological check-up carried out.
SPIEGEL:
Do you have to change your helmet after a fall?
Schmidt:
Yes, absolutely.
But even if you haven't had an accident, you should use a new helmet after three years at the latest.
The material can change over time, also with the weather, for example when the helmet is stored in the stable.
The optimal protective function is then no longer guaranteed.
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