In Part One last week, we talked about how New Jersey’s hunt clubs are adapting, becoming more welcoming, even offering options for people who just want to walk and trot while following the hounds. Here is a link to that story. This week, we discuss the future for these clubs.
Hunt clubs are about more than the chase. They play an important role in the equestrian community, often supporting Pony Clubs and a variety of activities such as hunter paces and small shows. That’s in addition to helping keep land open while encouraging an appreciation for the countryside and its way of life.
The beauty of horses and hounds running together could kindle admiration in those unfamiliar with equine pursuits, which might inspire them to explore an equestrian connection after glimpsing hunters in action.
So it is important that the clubs continue, but they face challenges in terms of sufficient membership and land on which to operate. Can they survive? It depends on the club, the area where they are located and the determination of their leaders and members.
“We’re in a spell now because of the changing times and changing economy where some hunts can’t stay viable,” said Andrew Barclay, director of hunting for the Masters of Foxhounds of America Association.
He called it, “A funny time for foxhunting, we are losing some hunts right now because of money or a change in the way people view outdoor country sports. It’s happening all around. People aren’t doing as much outdoors like they used to. Too many other things we’re competing against.”
Even so, he pointed out “There are other hunts that are trying to start.”
The most significant issue faced by many hunt clubs across the country is how to deal with a loss of territory as development continues its march. This is particularly an issue in densely populated New Jersey.
In Hunterdon County, the Amwell Valley Hounds’ Cindy Hoogland Nance, who serves as joint master with Dan Wasserstrom, worries that “We are on our last 10 to 20 years of foxhunting in New Jersey.”
She observed, “New Jersey is becoming slowly not a horse community, as it used to be. The farms are being bought up.”
Members of Amwell, founded in the 1960s, ride across farmland, not estates, as the Essex Fox Hounds often do, and not on state land, as the Monmouth County Hunt, with roots in the 19th Century, does at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area.
“In the valley, our farmers are real farmers,” the Amwell master explained.
“They’ve owned the land and farmed it, normally for two generations. Some three.”
The younger generation, however, is not going into farming.
“These lands are getting sold off to people coming out of New York and taking 100 acres of our territory,” Nance said, noting newcomers often get bad legal advice amid fears that someone will get injured on their property if they allow the hunt to ride there. Although New Jersey has an equine liability law to protect them, they and their attorneys may not be aware of it, she suggested.
Amwell, Nance explained, is “getting encroached by suburbia. Once we lose a 10-acre slot, we tend to lose the coherence of being able to get to the 100-acre field on one side and the 100-acre field on the other side.”
The Amwell Valley Hounds hunt across farmland.
There are people coming in who don’t farm, and don’t want the hunt on their property. But the hunt can be a plus for landowners, she pointed out, since Amwell mows where it hunts and will clear fallen trees.
Similar issues with territory affect Essex in Somerset County and the New York-based Windy Hollow Hunt, which at times also meets over the state line in Sussex County.
Farmers like the hunt because the area is “infested,” as Nance puts it, with bold coyotes, pests that can attack goats, lambs and pets, in addition to children–sometimes when adults are just feet away.
“Almost every pack in the country is hunting coyotes,” the MFHA’s Barclay said.
The Essex hounds operate wearing GPS collars, which joint MFH Jazz Johnson notes is particularly helpful with puppies who could stray, as well as when hounds are following coyotes.
“Because coyotes run in a straight line, they can get way outside of our allowed hunt territory very quickly,” she noted. If one or two hounds start following them and are headed out of bounds, the GPS makes it easy to “go and retrieve them.”
Coyotes offer “a cracking run” but they can get so far so fast that the proximity of Routes 78 and 206 could mean danger.
She noted that hunts elsewhere are coping with coyotes too, and “a lot of coyote pressure means much fewer foxes.” She doesn’t think that’s the case around the Essex territory, but rather “it is a problem in other hunt countries where there’s a lot of open space.”
“Nowadays in the sport,” she said, “the aim is not really to be killing game, it’s really just the pursuit and the… sporting (aspect) of it.”
Nance coordinates New Jersey hunts’ fundraising event schedules, so one hunter pace doesn’t conflict with another, for instance. Could more such cooperation mean mergers as an answer to problems facing the hunts?
“We’ve been starting conversations on how we’re going to do it,” she said, emphasizing they are in the “very preliminary” stage.
She believes, “the future of us is coming together with the different hunts, combining these packs with each hunt responsible for a particular territory.”
That, she explained, would mean “we can move around a little bit more versus doing the same five or six fixtures and going around in a circle.”
Windy Hollow MFH Lindie Scoresone agreed, “the biggest problem is losing land.”
Windy Hollow rotates around its territory, spending one-third of the time in New Jersey, the rest in New York.
“You don’t want to over-hunt the area, you can’t be there every couple of days,” she pointed out.
The Windy Hollow Hunt setting out.
Vernon, N.J., is “one area where we’ve been very lucky. There are a lot of farms that have been preserved and are friendly to the hunt. Further down in Sussex, they’re putting in fancy horse breeding farms and saying, `Sorry, we don’t want you to come through here anymore.’ That makes it difficult to get around.”
All hunts need to make concessions to landowners, but as long as it’s a two-way street, it often can be done.
One farm where Windy Hollow hunts “has cows in there and we have to work around where the cows are,” Scoresone said.
They also had an issue with a deer hunting club that didn’t want Windy Hollow to come through their leased land. It was “touchy,” but such matters can sometimes be solved with negotiation.
At one point, Windy Hollow considered additional acreage that looked promising for hunting, but it was “close to Route 94 and sort of a dangerous area to hunt.”
With the Vernon option, “we can back away from 94 and into those areas that have been preserved. It’s much better than we ever thought,” Scoresone commented.
In terms of increasing membership, she noted Windy Hollow’s Pony Club kids are very young,” but “we’re hopeful that’s the next step.”
Lynn Jones, an MFH from the Essex Fox Hounds, feels the same.
“One of our real priorities is to get the interest of young riders in the sport. We’ve engaged with the Somerset Hills Pony Club and encouraged those members to come out with us for a very nominal fee. It’s been great to have these young kids out hunting with us. It’s actually one of my favorite things, to teach them the sport,” she said.
Children are the future for the Spring Valley Hounds, as they are for the other hunts seeking to expand membership. (Photo courtesy Scott Mickelsen Photography).
The Spring Valley Hounds decades ago adjusted to the suburbanization of its territory in New Vernon, just outside of Morristown in Morris County, by splitting time between that area and Allamuchy in more rural Warren County, where the kennels were located.
Now it visits New Vernon on only a few occasions, since that area is far less horse-oriented than it used to be, despite retention of its trail system and small showgrounds. But in the northwest part of the state, Spring Valley, which also hunts territory in Sussex County, has “a bunch of landowners who like to see us,” said Dr. David Schroepfer, who serves as joint master with Dr. Louise Barbieri.
Spring Valley has another edge. Unlike the New Jersey hunts that chase foxes and coyotes, it is a drag hunt, with hounds following a line laid out in advance. Rather than using messy fox scent, Spring Valley’s hounds sniff anisette; yes, the liquer. It also smells better to humans, should one happen to spill it.
Schroepfer notes an advantage of a drag hunt is its ability to be more nimble than a live hunt.
“If there are crops in one section, I can direct hounds around that. Usually, that takes care of some people’s issues,” he said.
The hunt has “a fair amount of young members,” while partnering with a stable means people can ride horses out from there. Schroepfer believes in a focus on youth and families. Spring Valley’s “Coffee and Cars” is an event that attracts people who may not want to hunt, but still like to be a part of things.
“My thought is, if I get the whole family involved, then everyone is involved,” he said. With a drag hunt, he pointed out, if new or novice people are out, it’s easy to control certain situations.
“We can just stop for a little bit and do something else and modulate things,” he explained. It also enables Spring Valley to avoid areas that host deer hunters on a private basis. By the time Spring Valley gets to those sections, the hunters usually are finished for the day.
The Spring Valley Hounds, led here by Dr. Dave Schroepfer, enjoy their location in northwest New Jersey. (Photo courtesy of Scott Mickelsen Photography)
The masters of the New Jersey hunts meet once a year for dinner and to talk over common issues as a group. One of those issues is the question of mergers.
“Spring Valley has no interest in merging,” said Schroepfer, though like the other hunts, Spring Valley does joint meets with other clubs.
“We just do our own little thing; things seem to be going along okay,” he said.
Could drag hunting provide an answer for clubs feeling the territory pinch?
Windy Hollow’s Scorsone notes, “We really enjoy live hunting and having a live view”
With drag hunting, she contends, “You draw a different group of people who just want to go out for a couple of hours and run and jump. We’ve talked about it, and maybe use one territory? Everyone says, `No, we’re not interested.’ But if it ever got to the point where we couldn’t hunt at all unless we do that, it’s probably the solution.”
Starting this month, you can take a fully online equine nutrition course at Rutgers University from your home, with a 14-week undergraduate offering being presented in two different formats to horse owners, trainers, feed sales representatives or anyone interested in the topic. Each format has a different course workload, level of required interaction, completion documentation, and registration fee.
To earn a certificate of completion, students are expected to be fully engaged each week during the course, submit assignments, complete readings, watch videos, participate in discussions, and complete a final project. Those who receive a grade of 80 percent or more in the class along with the certificate, will also receive continuing education units (3.6 CEUs) rather than undergraduate college credits.
To earn a Certificate of Course Participation, course completion will be based on automatically graded quizzes and self-paced practice assignments but there are no deadlines or instructor interaction.
Click on this link for more information and to register for the course that runs Jan. 17-May 1. Questions? Contact Carey.Willliams@rutgers.edu.
The FEI’s (international equestrian federation) popular director of show jumping, Marco Fuste, has died of a heart attack at age 60.
Marco Fuste.
He suffered the attack a few days ago and succumbed January 5.
Before he went to the FEI, he was chef d’equipe of the Spanish showjumping team and director of show jumping for the Spanish equestrian federation.
When Marco was appointed to the FEI post in December 2020, he called it, “absolutely my dream job.
“Horses and equestrian sport, particularly jumping, have been a part of my life for so long and I see this new role as the pinnacle of my career. Jumping is already the FEI’s largest discipline and, while I know the challenges involved, I also see great opportunity for further expansion, particularly in South America, so that we can develop the sport more broadly. I can’t wait to get started.”
Lisa Roskens, who brought the FEI World Cup finals to Omaha in 2017, with a return to that city slated this April, noted, “He was that special combination of knowledgeable but collaborative and provided us with great guidance as we prepare for the World Cup finals this year.”
Lizzy Chesson, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s managing director of show jumping, called Marco, “a good friend and an outstanding human being; but i am sure there are many around the globe saying exactly the same thing at this very sad moment.
“Marco was a friend and a mentor to so many and dedicated to equestrian sport and jumping in particular. As a chef d’equipe, he wore his passion on his sleeve and he has, in my firm opinion, been doing an amazing job in the very challenging role of FEI director of jumping,” she continued.
Marco Fuste, left, in his role as chef d’equipe with Spain’s 2018 winning Nations Cup team at Gijon, Spain. (1Clicphoto)
“I will always laugh when I think back to his ability to `embellish’ the English language when there were things going wrong or people making poor decisions. Most of all, I will remember a warm human being who I will miss greatly.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his family and also with FEI family, who have lost one of the good ones’.”
During his time at the FEI, Marco oversaw the full revision of the FEI jumping rules, the successful delivery of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games due to Covid-19, and the FEI World Championships, World Cup and Nations Cup Finals. He worked closely with FEI Jumping Committee and Chair Stephan Ellenbruch (GER) to ensure the different stakeholders within the community understood the decisions, the reasoning and the decision-making process.
His eclectic background began in 1986 as event manager at the Spanish sports events company Organización y Gestión Deportiva S.A, before spending nine years with the World League of American Football, NFL Europe and NFL Europe League. Marco would go on to the tennis world, becoming general manager at the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation, during which Spain scored its first Davis Cup victory.
“The FEI and the greater equestrian community have lost a true friend, loyal equestrian, mentor and aficionado,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.
“Marco always gave it his all–he was not one for half measures or taking the easy option–and everyone respected him for his tenacity, his integrity and his good business sense.”
Those in the global equestrian community we lost in 2022.
In their own fashion, each made an impact. The best way to honor them at this special time of year is to recall what they contributed, and raise a glass to their memory.
Whether they were royalty or trainers, riders, a merchant or a politician, they all were special and had something in common—the love of horses. I can’t mention everyone who left us during the year, but here are some people you will remember fondly.
While most of the world looked at Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as a monarch (and of course she was), we prefer to think of her as a horsewoman She owned racehorses and was quite a rider herself. Who can forget her appearance on Burmese during the Trooping the Colors ceremony in 1981, when a teenager fired six blanks at horse and rider. While Burmese was startled, she kept her cool, as did the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth II on Burmese.
In later years, the Queen continued riding the Fell pony Carltonlima Emma, serving as inspiration for anyone who wonders if they could ride into their 90s. She left us at age 96 in September.
Michael Clayton, the former editor of iconic British magazine Horse & Hound, died at age 88 this month. A veteran war correspondent who had worked for the BBC, he was an avid foxhunter who became an innovator at H&H while holding it to the highest of standards.
Jack Pemberton served as a pillar of the driving community. The Canadian embodied the very definition of a gentleman, and he always got things done. Competitor, judge, chairman of the FEI driving committee, he made a mark for the good on the horse world. Gone at age 99 in August.
German course designer Arno Gego was known for his work at Aachen, his country’s premier show, and he was a respected mentor who departed at age 84 in April.
Anneli Drummond-Hay rode Merely-A-Monarch to victory at Badminton and Burghley, but she also excelled in show jumping and was shortlisted for those disciplines and dressage for the 1964 Olympics. Gone at age 84 in July.
In the U.S., those we will miss include trainer and author Judy Richter, extremely admired and widely mourned when she passed at 83 last month. She was influential in the careers of so many top riders, including Andre Dignelli and Norman Dello Joio.
Others of note who departed this year included para-dressage advocate Hope Hand, who posthumously will be the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner next month. The former executive director of the U.S. Para-Equestrian Association and a two-time paralympian herself died in June at age 73.
Trainer Richard Picken was far too young when he passed away in August at age 53. He helped such top competitors as Boyd Martin and Phillip Dutton.
Kay Meredith, a founding member of the U.S. Dressage Federation, died in November at 86. She was president of he USDF and a mentor to many.
Helen Kleberg Groves, who died at 94 in May, was raised on the famous King Ranch. A member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, she made a name for herself as a longtime thoroughbred, quarter horse and cattle breeder. She was the mother of D.D. Matz, wife of Olympic show jumping medalist turned racehorse trainer Michael Matz.
Maurice Ewing was a ringmaster for 50 years at North Carolina’s Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show, where he was also a member of the board. He died in September at 76.
In January, we lost Audrey Bostwick, 91, a judge, steward, and technical delegate specializing in pleasure driving.
Nancy Whitehead, who died in April at age 72, was presented with the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Jane Marshall Dillon Award for devoting her life to teaching and mentoring riders.
Another beloved trainer, Jeff Wirthman, was also a respected judge. The winner of the Kavar Kerr Distinguished Service Award died at 69 in August.
In New Jersey, it seemed as if we lost more than our share of special people this year.
Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, a champion for the horse industry in the state Legislature, left us in July at age 73.
Barbara Isaac, one of the country’s pioneers in therapeutic riding, died in November at 91. She was the founder, with her husband, Hanen, in 1979 of the Handicapped High Riders Club which became Riding High Farm in Allentown, N.J
Jim McCue of Sergeantsville Grain and Feed was much respected, and his departure at age 73 was keenly felt in November.
Driver Bill Orth, a singles winner in combined driving at Royal Windsor, had moved away but was fondly remembered by his friends in New Jersey, where he spent most of his life. He passed on in August at 90
The hunter/jumper trainers who died include Sandy Lobel and Joy Kloss. Sandy, the daughter of legendary trainer Clarence Nagro, died in April at 78. She was remembered as a complete horsewoman who inspired her students. Joy, who died in November at 71, was a judge and trainer who was involved in horse sales.
The hunting scene in the Garden State lost Joan Scher. Known for her work with equestrian charities and riding side-saddle with the Essex Foxhounds, she died at 86 in March. Louis “Tom” Gimbel, a member of both Essex and the Monmouth County Hunt, was gone at 93 in September.
Sale Johnson, 73, also died in September. She owned several of the USA’s top international show jumpers in the late 20th Century, Heisman and the General, and ran a breeding business in Bedminster.
As 2022 comes to an end, it’s time to give recognition to those who made an impact during not only this year, but previous years as well. And until Dec. 29, you have an opportunity to participate in the honors that will be presented next month by the U.S. Equestrian Federation.
Each USEF affiliate already has handed out its share of plaques and trophies at annual meetings this month. Go to the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association website to read about the salute to jumper icons Anne Kursinski of Frenchtown, N.J., and Floridian Margie Engle, as well as a host of other accolades for the deserving.
Margie and Anne, both Olympians, have contributed much during their long careers to the hunter/jumper industry. It is so nice to see people honored while they can still enjoy the recognition.
The U.S. Eventing Association installed a distinguished group in its hall of fame, including author and three-time Olympian Brig. Gen. Harry Chamberlain; Janie Atkinson, director of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event from 1984-2010; Badminton winner Eagle Lion, ridden by Bruce Davidson; Trish Gilbert, who played a key role in getting 5-star status for the Fair Hill International and Sally O’Connor, a judge and commentator (who also happens to be the mother of eventer David O’Connor and announcer Brian O’Connor.
The U.S. Dressage Federation named its former president, Lisa Gorretta, a governance stalwart and technical delegate as its Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and for its Hall of Fame selected longtime technical delegate and steward Janine Malone, a virtual walking rulebook.
The USEF will be giving out honors at its annual meeting in Kentucky next month where the late para dressage mover and shaker Hope Hand is remembered with the Lifetime Achievement Award (if only it had happened while she was alive to enjoy it.),
But you can have a direct vote in deciding who is getting the major titles for horse and rider of the year by voting using this link.
The international horse nominees include Salvino, the top U.S. finisher in the dressage freestyle at the world championships this year, with rider/trainer Adrienne Lyle, who is nominated for international rider of the year.
Adrienne Lyle and Salvino at the world championships.
The other horse/rider combination nominated for both awards is world number five-ranked eventer Will Coleman and his Irish Sport Horse Off the Record, seventh at the world championships.
Nationally, Hunt Tosh and Cannon Creek, winners of the USHJA International Hunter Derby, are among those nominated.
“Tally ho, ho, ho” a Christmas-spirited rider joyfully called out as a merry group on horseback set off to sing carols at three farms in Bedminster, N.J., today.
The event was organized by the Somerset Hills Pony Club, which invited others, including members of the Essex Fox Hounds, to join them. The group met at the farm of Jean and Peter Clark, where they were braced against the chill with hot cider.
The caroling concept had lots of appeal, both for the singers and those for whom they sang.
“It’s a nice thing to do, so I think everyone’s really excited to be out in the neighborhood,” said Peter, serving gingerbread and other goodies from a table on his front lawn.
“It’s really in keeping with the spirit of the season, and just another great expression of community around here, the neighbors going out and doing things with one another,” he added.
The horses were decked out for the occasion in (fake) holly, felt reindeer horns and glittering garlands. Riders favored red and white capes and Santa caps.
The procession of 20 or so riders included everyone from children to a grandmother. They rode along at the walk for four miles, stopping to serenade delighted members of the community who came out to watch and listen.
The tunes they sang sounded pretty good, considering each rider was an amateur and there were no rehearsals.
Doug Tansey, husband of Pony Club District Commissioner Brita Tansey, enthusiastically played Santa Claus, leading from the back of a pickup truck as the group wound its way around the unpaved roads.
The lineup of songs they offered included “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” “Jingle Bells,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and their favorite, a heartfelt, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Hester De Voogd, who rode with her friend, Joy Custer, is from the Netherlands and noted that a similar caroling ride wouldn’t take place there. Christmas celebrations involving equines are confined to the stable. But as she pointed out, until she came to this country she had never experienced hunter paces or tailgating afterward.
“Completely new for us,’ she said, and called the experience, “amazing. It’s so much fun.”
Rebecca Casey, who was the main organizer, “really did an awesome job,” said Brita.
A friend of Rebecca’s “had planted the seed a few years ago. We have a lot of fun pony clubbers and a lot of people who enjoy getting out and spreading good cheer,” Rebecca said, explaining the genesis of the concept.
Frank Crisola, who greeted the singers at his house, was obviously enjoying himself.
“Loved it. It’s a great tradition. I hope everybody keeps it up.”
Lizzy Chesson and her mother, Sharon Chesson, gathered with their family at Bailiwick Farm to welcome the singers with cider and candy.
“It’s such a great tradition to have everybody out and celebrating Christmas and part of the countryside. Having the kids here singing, it’s just wonderful.”
Here’s a short video of the caroling:
The EQUUS Foundation has estabblished the Judith Richter Memorial Horse Whisperer Award as a tribute to the trainer and author, who died last month.
A mentor to aspiring young riders, many of whom are professionals today, Judy was also a mentor to the EQUUS Foundation 20 years ago.
“The EQUUS Foundation was just a concept when I approached Judy for her advice about forming an organization to assist local equine charities based in Connecticut and nearby in New York ,” said Lynn Coakley, EQUUS foundation president.
“Without hesitation, Judy joined the inaugural board of directors to help raise awareness of our mission. Throughout the next 20 years, Judy continued to offer guidance–and kind words on our progress.”
“My mother added so much value to so many lives. This is a wonderful way to honor her,” said Philip Richter, Judy’s son.
The EQUUS Foundation Board of Directors designates individuals posthumously as Horse Whisperers in recognition of their life-long dedication to and impact on protecting America’s horses from peril and strengthening the horse-human bond.
The board also designates individuals and organizations as Horse Whisperers in recognition of their commitment to provide substantial and much needed resources to ensure that America’s horses are safe and live with dignity throughout their lives.
EQUUS Foundation Horse Whisperers are honored by the EQUUS Foundation with the establishment of an award in their names to be presented to equines charities selected by the Equus board from among grant recipients that best align with the interests of the Horse Whisperers.
The Judith Richter Memorial Horse Whisperer Award will be presented in September 2023 in recognition of her life-long dedication to horses as a horsewoman of the highest standards and mentor to aspiring riders.
In the wake of Virginia Institute of Technology’s new helmet ratings (to read about them, click on this link) helmet manufacturers are replying.
Here is the comment from Tipperay Equestrian:
Now that the much-anticipated results from the Virginia Tech equestrian helmet study are available, Tipperary Equestrian can review and apply these learnings to our manufacturing process and continue to provide you with the best equestrian protective gear.
Product advancements in protective equipment often come from independent innovators, Mips® for example. A person or company has an idea that they study, research, and develop, then work with manufacturers to apply new technology or a concept to their products. The Virginia Tech study is a great example of this.
Much like we did with Mips®, it is our job to stay on top of innovations and update our processes accordingly. Regarding the VT results, we must explore how to incorporate the new learnings while ensuring that we continue to meet the ASTM F1163-15 equestrian standard; a requirement for us as a North American brand. Most importantly, the VT evaluation is weighted towards low velocity impacts, while the current ASTM standard focuses on high velocity impacts known to cause catastrophic injuries like a skull fracture, or worse. Both impact types are entirely possible and now that the importance of low velocity impacts has been brought to light by VT, addressing both vastly different fall scenarios is necessary.
Important for all equestrians to know, the ASTM standard is updated every 5 years to capture new research. We’re eager to see the update and subsequent changes in the equestrian industry, which is unfortunately often the last to see new innovations. Other sports get this treatment first; just as Mips® was initially seen in cycling, and the VT ratings began in Football. We encourage all organizations who have the ability, time, and resources to help make our sport better. Tipperary Equestrian is always open to new information; it is the only way forward.
This is One K’s response:
As you are likely aware, Virginia Tech has published a study of 40 equestrian helmets that have been tested and assigned a rating using their STAR evaluation system. The safety of our consumers is a top priority for One K , and they know that selecting the right helmet means finding one that performs on impact and is properly sized and fitted. We applaud the efforts of Virginia Tech to explore these helmet safety issues.
Please note that the VA Tech rating system is not a pass/fail system. OneK helmets have passed the safety standards for equestrian helmets set by ASGTM F1163-15. Those results are then certified by the Safety Equipment Institute “SEI. It is important to note that the ASTM standard is based upon high impact falls that could result in catastrophic injury. Helmets built to the highest levels of this standard often do not score high on studies that include low impacts. It has been our mission to supply products that meet or exceed those standards for protection. VA Tech expressly acknowledges that helmets pass ASTM F1163-15 and thus are considered safe. Additionally, they are tested to and certified by CE to the European standards EN 1384:2014 and VG1 01.040 2014-2.
One K in the prestigious 2021 Folksam’s test in Sweden earned top ratings for safety
We view the VA Tech test as an opportunity to take these additional learnings and apply them to continue to deliver safe, durable, and high-quality helmets to the English rider.
The Mips response from Sweden:
The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab has just released their ratings of equestrian helmets, the first time to apply their STAR evaluation system to them. At Mips, we welcome the new benchmark initiative to evaluate equestrian helmets, yet aspects of the test and rating methods leave room for improvement.
Mips, which stands for Multi-directional Impact Protection System, provides the Mips® safety system, which is intended to help reduce harmful rotational motion that might be otherwise transferred to the user’s head for certain impacts.
After carefully evaluating the test method and ratings process, Mips believes that the STAR ratings system should adopt additional testing methods. Mips Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer Peter Halldin further explains below:
● The Virginia Tech rating program conducts tests to the helmet that primarily include compression forces to the helmet, mimicking an accident situation where the rider falls straight towards the ground, a vertical velocity relative to the ground.
● However, even if rotational kinematics are measured, rotation is principally induced due to the head rotating around the neck, not at the first contact with the impacting surface.
● If a horse and its rider have a speed forward during their fall, there will be both vertical and horizontal velocity relative to the ground, and rotation could also be induced at the initial contact with the ground due to tangential force. To be able to replicate this phenomenon another test method is required.
● This could explain the discrepancy between Virginia Tech Helmet Lab’s ratings, and those from Swedish insurance company Folksam; for example, a helmet rated 1-star by Virginia Tech are rated 5-star by Folksam.
● The Folksam rating program includes impacts that have a tangential force acting on the helmet, which we suggest Virginia Tech implements to complement their current test method.
● Additionally, the Virginia Tech rating system weights the front impact location and the lower impact velocity of 4.0 m/s higher than the impact velocity of 6.3 m/s. Therefore, the final rating of the helmets in the Virginia Tech rating program is more dependent on the performance of the front of the helmet and low velocity impacts.
While we appreciate the new initiatives to evaluate equestrian helmets and promote helmet safety more generally, we at Mips believe that the new rating systems may be cause for confusion.
Virginia Tech just released the safety ratings for 40 equestrian helmets following an initiative undertaken with funding from eventing supporter Jacqueline Mars, the U.S. Equestrian Federation, U.S. Eventing Association and the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association.
The project involves the same system Virginia Tech uses for its football helmet ratings. The best helmets get the most stars. The interesting thing is the wide variance in price among the top choices. So yes, you can afford a top-rated helmet. Click here to see where your helmet fits in.
Over the past two years, Virginia Tech researchers analyzed over 100 videos of riders falling off horses, precisely measured the hardness of the sand, dirt, grass, and synthetic surfaces underfoot at equestrian events, and dragged dummy heads and other equipment — and boxes and boxes of helmets — out to Virginia Tech’s equestrian facilities to simulate falls.
Then the team of researchers from the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics took all that data back to the lab to recreate those events in a series of controlled, quantitative tests. They used those tests to assess 40 equestrian helmets from different manufacturers. The result is the first set of equestrian helmet ratings from the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab.
If a rider’s head hits the ground in a fall, their helmet can determine whether the rider makes it through without an injury. That’s why the Helmet Lab wanted to determine which helmets perform better than others. Of the 40 models included in this initial set of ratings, two earned the top score of five stars. Eleven earned four, and the rest earned three or below. Price isn’t necessarily a predictor of quality: One of the two five-star helmets retails for $460, and the other for $58.
The ratings apply to falls that occur at all gaits, as well as jumping.
The lab’s extensive testing also shed more light on what happens during real impact in the equestrian arena and illuminated some gaps between the required safety standards these helmets have to pass before going on the market and the actual impact they’re subjected to when a rider is wearing them.
“Standards for equestrian helmets are typically based on severe impacts,” said Stefan Duma, director of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science at Virginia Tech.
“What we found is that a lot of riders come off at lower velocities, and many helmets are too stiff to effectively cushion those softer impacts. The helmets that perform better are able to deal with different energy levels.”
Virginia Tech’s ratings also go beyond the existing standards by using a formula that considers the rotational acceleration that occurs when a rider’s head hits the ground, in addition to linear acceleration.
This is the lab’s ninth major ratings release since researchers began rating helmets in 2011. They have tested and rated helmets for varsity, youth, and flag football; soccer; cycling; hockey; snow sports; and whitewater sports, transforming the science of sports safety by giving athletes, parents, and coaches unbiased, quantitative data they can use to choose the safest equipment.
“With every sport we look at we go through detailed analysis to make sure that the biomechanics we’re testing relate specifically to those athletes,” said the director.
“For these ratings, we determined what the acceleration profile would look like for a rider falling on the ground. Then we take that trace and bring it into the lab and recreate it, to make sure that our testing matches what a rider would experience if they fell off a horse.”
The pendulum impactor used for the equestrian helmet testing sits in a lab space outfitted with custom-built test equipment in the basement of the headquarters of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science.
When the pendulum strikes a head form protected by one of the helmets being tested, sensors inside the head form record the blow. Each helmet model was tested at three impact locations and two impact speeds that are representative of real-world falls.
T“The U.S. Equestrian Federation is not only fully committed to the welfare and protection of horses but also of our people,” said David O’Connor, chief of sport at the U.S. Equestrian Federation.
“The launch of the rating system developed through the helmet research done by the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab is an exponential step in improving equipment in the world that will reduce the risk of injuries. We are proud to have supported this research and congratulate the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab on their progressive work for the benefit of all equestrians.”
The amazing blind Appaloosa Endo, who has the ultimate trust in his rider, is always busy. Now he has set the mark high again in the Guinness World Records. Read a story we ran about him in 2020 by clicking here.
To learn about this amazing horse’s current accomplishments in jumping and dressage, go to this link
