Bad news, awkwardly delivered

This will be a rambly entry, and I apologize for that. I can't seem to put together something coherent.

I found out yesterday that Teacherwoman, who runs my Western class, was badly injured in a fall over the weekend while riding at her parents' place in the northeast. I don't know many details, but the barn staff did say that she landed on her head and is in the ICU at the local hospital. Good thoughts in that general direction would not go amiss.

Riding is a dangerous sport. Riders can try to minimize the chance of injury by knowing the ground, training the horse, keeping equipment in good shape, wearing helmets, and staying alert to our surroundings and the horse, but you can't control everything. It's like getting into a car: There's a certain level of risk you have to accept, and most of us don't think too much about it on a day-to-day basis. Then the SUV veers in front of you and the risk becomes vividly apparent.

I grew up riding in rural Texas, where helmets were unheard-of. It's kind of a thing with Western riders, actually; even today, some rodeo sports require that you wear a cowboy hat, and points come off if your hat does. Riding without a helmet is exhilarating, with wind whipping through your hair and whistling in your ears, and it gives you a fantastic sense of speed and freedom. It also increases the chance that you'll be badly hurt if you fall. I hate my helmets: They look stupid, get my head sweaty, make me really conspicuous in a lot of riding environments, and don't even guarantee that I won't get hurt--after all, Christopher Reeve was wearing one the day he was thrown. But I suck it up and buckle the straps on the damn things, because I've heard too many stories about falls that didn't have to be serious. The calmest, best-trained horse in the world can step in a hole or get stung by a bee, and the best rider in the world can come off.

I don't know whether Teacherwoman was wearing a helmet when she fell; it matters exactly not at all. But for everyone else, today: Wear a helmet when you bike or ride. Buckle your seatbelt. Look both ways.

Take good care.

ETA: The barn just called and said that Teacherwoman will be moved out of the ICU tomorrow and that she can walk and talk. She will need physical therapy and won't be teaching for a while, but it appears that she is out of the woods.