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Riders4helmets National Helmet Awareness Day July 10 Attracts National Support

by By Lyndsey White | Jul 7, 2010, 2:15 PM

Photo by Sarah Wheeler (Jeri Bryant, with her horse, Baby.)
Photo by Sarah Wheeler (Jeri Bryant, with her horse, Baby.)
The riders4helmets National Helmet Awareness Day, set for July 10 at the Kentucky Horse Park, is shaping up to be a big event. It has attracted the support of major equestrian stars, organizations, retailers and helmet manufacturers from across the United States. The first of its kind, the event was created to support the riders4helmets national campaign, designed to educate equestrians on the benefits of wearing helmets. Riders4helmets is jointly operated by Jeri Bryant and Succeed®.

Participants in the National Helmet Awareness Day event will include Kemi O’Donnell who lost her 12-year-old daughter as a result of a head injury sustained while riding. O’Donnell will be joined by Eclipse Award-winning jockey Frank Lovato, Jr., dressage rider Reese Koffler-Stanfield, eventer Cathy Wieschhoff, neurosurgeon Dr. Bill Brooks, and representatives of riders4helmets, United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA), United States Dressage Federation, CHO, Troxel, Charles Owen, Good To Go Medical Card and more.

More than 125 equestrian retailers and a number of helmet manufacturers have announced their participation in National Helmet Awareness Day. Participating helmet manufacturers include Charles Owen, Troxel, GPA, Aegis (Devon-Aire), Ovation, Tipperary, IRH and Antares-Sellier France. All are providing discounts on helmets as part of the event. The list of participating retailers is updated daily at www.riders4helmets.com.

The USHJA is the latest national equestrian organization to support National Helmet Awareness Day. The USHJA joins USEF, the United States Eventing Association (USEA), and USDF in pledging their support for the event.

A helmet campaign t-shirt autographed by leading equestrians will be placed up for auction in the Courtney King-Dye Medical Fund/Equestrian Aid Foundation eBay store on July 10 in honor of National Helmet Awareness Day. The t-shirt will bear the signatures of 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, winner William Fox-Pitt and Olympians David O’Connor, Karen O’Connor, Gina Miles, Hawley Bennett, Samantha St. Jacques and others. The eBay store can be found at http://stores.ebay.com/Courtney-King-Dye-Medical-Fund.

For further updates on National Helmet Awareness Day and the riders4helmets campaign, visit www.riders4helmets.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/riders4helmets, or, Twitter at www.twitter.com/riders4helmets.

Succeed® Digestive Conditioning Program is an official product sponsor of USEF, USDF and USEA. It is produced and distributed exclusively by Freedom Health, LLC, of Aurora, OH. The company is focused on finding, perfecting and delivering superior, innovative products that address real and significant health-related issues for animals and the people who care for them. Visit www.succeed-equine.com for further information on the product.