|
 Safety
Why
Don't Vaulters Wear Helmets?
This question is often
asked, and we've provided answers from
an American Medical Equestrian Association
MD along with statements from the United
States Pony Club in response. However,
given the documented safety of
vaulting,
the
focus
shouldn't
be on
why vaulters don't
wear
helmets,
but
on the safety of vaulting and why.
Safety is the first and
most important application of vaulting.
By increasing confidence and balance, it
decreases falls; by teaching proper vault-offs
from every position as well as good landings,
it reduces chances of injury from a fall.
Helmets and boots are not worn for vaulting
because they alter a vaulters balance.
(Refer to USPC Policy 0125A Safety Requirements
for Pony Club.
--United
States Pony Club (USPC) Vaulting Handbook
“When mounted (except
when vaulting or engaged in polo) all Pony
Club members must wear properly fitted
and securely fastened equestrian helmets
that comply with the American Society for
Testing Materials (ASTM) standard.”
--United
States Pony Club (USPC) Rulebook Policy
0125.A (Note that USPC rules specify a
polo-specific helmet
for polo.) .
 “United
States and European vaulters have joined
their
gymnastic colleagues in taking the
position that helmets are a hazard to their
sport.
Potentially, they adversely affect
balance and can interfere with peripheral
vision.
Any potentially movable object between
the vaulter's head and the horse could
be unsafe for the rider. I was able
to find no one in the vaulting community
who supports the use of helmets.”
--Robert Faulkner, MD (Family Practitioner),
American Medical Equestrian Association
(AMEA), AVA, from a 1996 AMEA paper on
helmets and vaulting.
“There is at this
point no evidence of a head injury problem
in vaulting. Instances of head injury are
rare. This continues to be a relatively
safe equestrian sport.”
--Robert
Faulkner, MD (Family Practitioner) in a
2000 AMEA ten-year review of vaulting,
American Medical Equestrian Association
(AMEA), AVA
A Consumer
Product Safety Commission report
of head injury to children under 15 years
of age associated with all types of consumer
products demonstrates that total injuries
are greatest for 1) Bicycles; 2) Swings/SwingSets;
3) Baseball/Softball; 4) Grocery/Shopping
Carts; 5) Monkey Bars/Playground Equipment;
6) Bunk Beds; 7) Carriers/Carseats; 8)
Skating (all); 9) Slides; 10) Strollers;
11) Baby Walkers; 12) Soccer; 13) Playground
Equipment; 14) Trampolines; 15) Cribs,
all; 16) ATVs; 17) High Chairs; 18) Hockey;
19) Horseback Riding, etc. Both the U.S. and German records
demonstrate that vaulting has a much
lower incidence of injury than the other
equestrian disciplines.
--US
Consumer Product Safety Commission report
of September 29, 1999 “Children’s
Head Injuries: 1998 Injuries”
Here's
an interesting article about
VaultCanada helmet usage guidelines.
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Vaulting