The Characteristics of Jockey and Rider Falls and the Development of a Clinical Trial Protocol to Evaluate the Effect of Fall Safety Training on Injury Severity in Equine Sports

Abstract

People who engage in equestrian sports have a high risk of falling from their horse, which can result in serious injury.

The first study was analysis of injury outcomes for riders who fell wearing or not wearing an air jacket. From Fédération Équestre Internationale data, air jacket usage was found to be associated with an increase in the incidence of serious injuries in falls (p=0.007). Riders wearing an air jacket had 1.7 times increased odds of sustaining a serious or fatal injury in a fall compared to riders not wearing an air jacket; however, there was insufficient data to determine the cause of this counterintuitive association and further research is needed.

The second study investigated relationships between fall characteristics and high-risk landings (HRL) at jumps in cross-country eventing. A video analysis protocol was developed to analyse 87 video recordings of HRL — defined as when the rider's head impacted the ground and or where there was potential horse impact with the rider. An Equestrian Fall Assessment Instrument (EFAI) video analysis protocol was developed to examine the characteristics associated with high-risk landings. Based on the EFAI and subsequent data analyses, findings suggest optimised approach speed for correct striding and take-off; jump design to enable run-out; and rider training could help reduce the occurrence of HRLs.

In the third study, video footage of 80 racing falls which occurred in UK, Ireland, and NZ, were analysed using the EFAI. Lower race class (p=0.054), hanging onto the reins upon ground impact (p=0.028), and no jockey tuck-and-roll behaviour following ground impact (p=0.001) explained 40.3% of the variance associated with HRLs.

The evidence-base and findings in this thesis will enable future research work, including a FALLSAFE clinical trial to be carried out to ascertain potential cost-benefits of a training intervention that may mitigate injury risk for riders who regularly engage in equine activities.