Lexington, Ky.—Jul. 24, 2020—The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is pleased to announce it will pledge $100,000 towards a $450,000 Helmet Safety Research Campaign to support the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab’s research to improve helmets used by the equestrian community.
The USHJA will be hosting an informational webinar with lead researcher Dr. Barry Miller on Wednesday, July 29 at 5 p.m. ET for individuals and organizations interested in becoming involved with and supporting the campaign.
“The importance of helmet safety, as we all have come to understand it, is of the highest importance to our health and well-being and that of equestrian sport,” said Mary Babick, president of the USHJA. “Our pledge to this campaign is not only a commitment to furthering research and technology in this field, but also a commitment to our equestrian community to help make it safer for all involved.”
The USHJA Board of Directors approved the funding in December 2019 at the USHJA Annual Meeting after Dr. Miller presented on the topic of helmet safety and the research the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab has undertaken. This research program will study head impact and concussion risk in an equestrian environment. Research will be conducted in lab settings and field video data on a variety of equestrian events with significant attention to jumping, where many injuries occur. This project will set the framework to better understand concussive biomechanics in the equestrian industry and better inform helmet manufacturers for improvement with environment-specific design.
The USHJA encourages other equestrian organizations and individuals to also pledge their support to help fund this crucial research which will help improve the helmet rating system which influences the manufacturing of equestrian helmets. To register for the informational webinar and learn how you or your organization can get involved, click here.
To donate to the Helmet Safety Research campaign to help Virginia Tech reach the funding goal of $450,000, click here.
About the US Hunter Jumper Association
The United States Hunter Jumper Association, as the official hunter/jumper affiliate of the United States Equestrian Federation, is a competition-based sport organization that serves our members through educational programs, awards and recognition, communication and rules. We provide a wide array of programs for all hunter/jumper levels, and we are mindful of the well-being of our equine partners. Additionally, we are committed to preserving the history of our sport and through our Foundation we support charitable and benevolent services. Learn more at ushja.org.