FCE Rider Safety Survey Part II

Ok let's dig into a few more data elements from the survey. Starting with identifying our actual response group. Unsurprisingly, the survey got the most responses on the first day it was published (114 of 288 responses).

Over the next couple days it picked up a few more both from this blog and from those of you who shared the survey elsewhere (thank you!) - netting another 74 after two more days. Eventing Nation shared the survey to garner 84 new responses, and the rest (16) trickled in over the remaining days before the survey closed.

By the nature of 'Fraidy Cat Eventing's audience here, and the share from Eventing Nation, the survey received responses primarily from eventers, many of whom dabble in dressage. Nearly a third are h/j riders, and there were many write-in responses for western disciplines (including reining and breed shows), trail riding, and fox hunting.

It's notable that some of the answers on the gear question from Part I can be explained by the distribution of preferred disciplines among survey respondents.

For example, full seat breeches and rubberized reins elicited more responses than knee patch breeches or laced reins - likely due more to their popularity and common use with eventers and dressage riders. Tho there is a slight difference in proportions, it's not actually as large as that chart would make it seem.

I was curious to see if this variation in preferred disciplines would play a role in how riders choose new helmets.

The survey asked: On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the most important, what is most important to you when purchasing a riding helmet?

This was particularly interesting because these results stayed the same regardless of preferred discipline. It was a close race between Fit and Certification / Approvals, but those two factors hold a strong lead over any other choice.

Of note: the only measure in which this helmet priority order shifted was when considering age.

Riders in the 65-75 and under-15 age groups ranked Price as "least important." Perhaps because the under-15 riders aren't paying the bills? Or the 65-75 riders are beyond pinching pennies? Either way, those two age groups were very small and therefore subject to higher degrees of skew.

And the race between Fit and Certifications / Approvals was closest in the 25-35 age bracket.

More helmet tidbits:

• 91% of survey respondents wear a helmet every ride
• 98% wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet (when they wear one)
• And 58% research their helmets beyond learning whether they are ASTM/SEI certified before purchasing.

Survey respondents also reaffirmed what we already know: To ride means to fall.

I should clarify that just one person reported having never fallen off - so while I think it's safe to say that person was probably an outlier, they're included here for the sake of transparency in reporting. Otherwise we might expect to see this stat reading "100% of riders have fallen off."

  

Regardless, basically all riders have fallen off, and just over half have done so within the past year.

What surprised me, tho, was how few report a fall-related injury in the past year - just 16% (44 respondents). I'm not sure why I expected that number to be larger, and I'm not trying to say that 44 injuries is insignificant by any means. It's interesting, tho.

And of those survey respondents who were injured in a fall,

• 19% believe that different equipment could have reduced the impact of the fall.
• And 10% believe that different equipment could have prevented the fall.

These stats further reaffirm what we already know: When riding horses, accidents will happen. And sometimes those accidents will result in injury. Safety gear and equipment are not enough to prevent accidents from happening, but they play an important role in risk mitigation.

Stay tuned for still a little more to come - mostly as it relates to rider opinions surrounding different behaviors and activities.