# Tragic death of 10 year old barrel racer



## Hoofpic (Aug 23, 2015)

This story is so sad, did you hear about it? Is this one of those situations where there was not much that could have been done and due to the rider being a lot smaller than an adult, the chances of her getting out of the way when the horse spooked is a lot smaller?

Tragic Death Of 10-Year-Old Barrel Racer ? Please Pray For Her Family ? The Horseaholic


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Sad indeed, but wonder what caused a fatal outcome, and if it will fuel the entire helmet debate
Most associations now make it mandatory for youth under 18 to wear helmets,esp in speed events 
Perhaps a helmet would not have changed the outcome, if the hrose fell on her, for instance
Do we know the details as to what happened ?


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

I just googled, and see where it said the horse spooked, and fell over backwards on her, which of course, suggests that the horse reared and flipped, thus doubt a helmet would have made a difference, and does under line the danger of ahorse that rears and goes over.
Sad to loose a child, esp one so full of life!


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Smilie said:


> Perhaps a helmet would not have changed the outcome, if the hrose fell on her, for instance
> Do we know the details as to what happened ?


There are several videos and pictures where she *IS* wearing a helmet.

The articles I have read, do not say if she was wearing a helmet or not at the time of the accident. Of course, when a horse rears and flips, a helmet will not prevent internal injuries to vital organs. 

Tragic accident, regardless. Poor family.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

beau159 said:


> There are several videos and pictures where she *IS* wearing a helmet.
> 
> The articles I have read, do not say if she was wearing a helmet or not at the time of the accident. Of course, when a horse rears and flips, a helmet will not prevent internal injuries to vital organs.
> 
> Tragic accident, regardless. Poor family.



Agree, and why I googled as to what happened, and reached the same conclusion as you.
A sad reminder as to how dangerous hroses are that rear and flip over


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

What are the black straps on her thighs? Was she strapped to the saddle?

That's just so sad for them.


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## CrossCountry (May 18, 2013)

This happened where I'm from, and is such a tragedy. She was a beautiful young girl with so much potential, so sad.


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

Dancing Arabian - according to a discussion on another board the black straps are "leg wraps that go around your leg adhere to the velcro on the saddle seat giving you more grip to stay in your seat,yet allowing you to come free in the case of an accident" (https://www.joseywesternstore.com/product-p/br-903.htm)
no information as to whether she was actually wearing them at the time of the accident
I am pro helmet but if the horse lands on top of a kid that size it is pretty irrelevant as to whether she had one on or not


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## EliRose (Aug 12, 2012)

Very sad.

There are a lot of barrel racers around here that will not wear a helmet but WILL wear a crash vest. They seem to be gaining a ton of popularity. Probably wouldn't have made a difference here, but something to think about.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

DancingArabian said:


> What are the black straps on her thighs? Was she strapped to the saddle?


It's a Magic Seat. They are velcro straps to velcro a person to the seat.

Some people use it if they cannot keep themselves in the seat if their horse is too powerful for them. I do not agree with that. I also don't agree with seeing children using them. If you can't learn to ride a powerful horse without the Magic Seat, then you don't ride a powerful horse until you can. IMO.

I think there are some valid uses for the Magic Seat, such as in Amberly Synder's case (paralyzed from the waist down), but not with a small-size child. 

But that's neither here nor there, and not meant to get into a debate.


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

That is sad. Poor girl, sure her parents are dealing with a lot.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Things like this do bring up debates on safety issues - I actually see no problem with that as long as the comments are in 'good taste' because maybe something helpful could come out of the tragic loss of such a young person that could maybe save someone else
I know Laura Collett (UK eventing) believes that her safety best is the reason she's still alive today.
Look at the rider (Coral Keen) at 0:19 in this video - she survived that but likely wouldn't have without the air vest.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Wow, thanks for sharing that clip Jaydee. Seeing that horse come down right on top of the rider was truly scary! Those air vests are starting to look pretty darned appealing!

My daughter did some barrel racing very briefly when she was about 10. Even won a first place trophy at a small show, however, she never went faster than a lope. The competition wasn't very stiff so it was more about getting it done right than doing it fast. Several kids trotted around the barrels. 

But I remember that at the time I read about various horse sports and realized there are more injuries in barrel racing and eventing than in other horse sports so while I didn't exactly tell my daughter not to barrel race, I steered her towards other things. She does jump, but I don't like the fact that the jumps don't give in eventing, so that's not something I'd ever encourage her to do.

This is not meant in any way to be a judgment on the parents or on anyone who chooses to barrel race or event. Everything has a risk, but I chose to stay within my comfort zone. Some parents think I'm crazy for letting my child ride a horse.


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

Roughstock events in American Rodeo have been using vests since the early 90s. I am old enough to remember when they first started showing up. There was "Get Western", a sort of hard shell with a leather cover and Kevlar foam inside, and Tipperary, the vests invented by Cody Lambert I think it was. Those were also Kevlar and leather covered but flexible. 

I was hooked and stepped on in my 20 second rodeo career as a young man, those vests are amazing. You can feel that you got hit, but that is lot better than any injury without it.

I am not at all opposed to the idea of wearing a vest. Maybe for kids it should be required along with a helmet.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Then there are working Cowhorse riders, that don;t wear any safety clothes.
I have see some pretty good wreaks, taking a bad cow down the fence!

This is just a good run, but I have seen where a cow got caught up in the bosal reins of the horse, one where the cow went under the horse, and some other pretty scary stuff. Since there is a third animal-n predictable pattern in those moves. I find working cowhorse much risker then running games, having don both at some level


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

DH was schooling one of our horses (K) in 2015 (gosh where did last year go!!) and was walking her around on a loose rein to just cool her off at the end of the session and she was literally just a couple of yards from where I was sitting on the mounting block when she swung her head around to her side to bite at a fly and seemed to get hung up on something, still no clue what, and sort of ran backwards a few strides, lost her balance and sat down then rolled over backwards. It was all over in seconds but seemed like ages because I couldn't do anything to stop it happening. He was really lucky as he reacted fast enough to get his feet out of the stirrups and throw himself far enough away that she just landed on his leg and the sand cushioned the impact
We take risks with our own lives when we ride but as parents, wives, husbands we also have to think of those we could be leaving behind to manage without our support if we die or leaving with the burden of caring for us if we become badly disabled


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

jaydee said:


> DH was schooling one of our horses (K) in 2015 (gosh where did last year go!!) and was walking her around on a loose rein to just cool her off at the end of the session and she was literally just a couple of yards from where I was sitting on the mounting block when she swung her head around to her side to bite at a fly and seemed to get hung up on something, still no clue what, and sort of ran backwards a few strides, lost her balance and sat down then rolled over backwards. It was all over in seconds but seemed like ages because I couldn't do anything to stop it happening. He was really lucky as he reacted fast enough to get his feet out of the stirrups and throw himself far enough away that she just landed on his leg and the sand cushioned the impact
> We take risks with our own lives when we ride but as parents, wives, husbands we also have to think of those we could be leaving behind to manage without our support if we die or leaving with the burden of caring for us if we become badly disabled


Yup, it can happen fast! 

BTW, I showed the video of the eventing horses falling on top of their riders to my daughter. She needs to understand and appreciate the danger. Being 12, that isn't always immediately obvious to her. She's told me she wants to start jumping higher with Harley, so we are going to start shopping for a vest. Thanks for giving me the nudge I needed to make that decision!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

jaydee said:


> DH was schooling one of our horses (K) in 2015 (gosh where did last year go!!) and was walking her around on a loose rein to just cool her off at the end of the session and she was literally just a couple of yards from where I was sitting on the mounting block when she swung her head around to her side to bite at a fly and seemed to get hung up on something, still no clue what, and sort of ran backwards a few strides, lost her balance and sat down then rolled over backwards. It was all over in seconds but seemed like ages because I couldn't do anything to stop it happening. He was really lucky as he reacted fast enough to get his feet out of the stirrups and throw himself far enough away that she just landed on his leg and the sand cushioned the impact
> We take risks with our own lives when we ride but as parents, wives, husbands we also have to think of those we could be leaving behind to manage without our support if we die or leaving with the burden of caring for us if we become badly disabled


Yes, I think all the time now, since my body no longer is as resilient as in the past, not so much of being killed, but rather disabled
Christopher Reeve being a prime example.

It absolutely can happen in the blink of an eye, and I might not be here today, or at least not walking, were it not for a supreme and super athletic attempt by my old reining mare, I put down last year, at age 30
She was young at the time, and I was staking a working cowhorse clinic with her.
That particular former arena, in our local town, also served for fair events, ect, and had a cement floor
When horse events were hosted there, sand would be put back in.
Well, I don't think enough sand was put back in, as even when the instructor was doing some demos on his horse, sparks were flying when the horse stopped, obviously hitting that cement with the sliders.
As I was taking a cow down the fence, as in that video, and stopped to turn her, my horse's back end slid out from under her, and she sat down almost like a dog. I fell backwards out of the saddle, while she swayed above me, trying not to come over on top of me
There was dead silence, with everyone holding their breath,, and I sure thought I was doomed, as I could not have gotten out of the way fast enough
Somehow, she managed to launch herself forward instead


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