Thank you Troxel! I'm a competitive barrel racer and the only 30ish rider that I know who wears a helmet during practice and competition (at the competitions I go to). I've fallen off before without my helmet goofing around, but yesterday during a race my horse exploded violently and I went off with your helmet on and I am so thankful for it even tho I look different and am often mistaken for a youth rider, that I had it on.

I didn't get a concussion, just a headache. I have injuries all over from the accident but nothing serious and most importantly the most important part of my body was properly protected because of your great products! I have 2 little girls and they never object to wearing your helmets either!

Thanks for making something that we don't always want to wear, something fun to wear so we put it on and flaunt it with pride in our house. My trademark is my hot pink Spirit helmet - no one can miss me at competition! Lol :) You saved my noggin! Thanks again.

I was training a horse that was new to our barn, and decided to take her out on the trails with a group of other riders for her first trail ride. She was doing well, until the person in front of us grabbed a branch that was in their way, and then let it go after they rode past it, hitting the horse I was riding in the face. It happened so fast, I didn't have time to react.

She reared up so quickly and with so much force, her head connected with mine, knocking both contact lenses out of my eyes, and smashing the front of my helmet. The force to my head was so extreme, that I ended up in a pile on the ground, not remembering anything after seeing her head come towards mine. I looked like someone had given me two black eyes (as well as the discoloration covering the rest of my face).

Within minutes my eyes were so swollen I could not open either of them. It took over a week before the swelling had gone down enough to be able to open my eyes and see again. I was a solid bruise from my lower cheeks to my forehead for over 3 weeks (it actually looked like I had painted my face black), and it took a good part of the summer for all of the bruising to actually go away.

We saved the helmet from that day, and it was when I was finally able to see again, that I saw how lucky I truly was. The visor had been broken off (leaving rigid edges from what was left of it), and the helmet itself had actually split into two pieces, from the force of her head, and the impact of the fall. I have no doubts that I am here today because I took the time to put that helmet on before I left for that trail ride that day... The ER doctors said the same thing. I've had plenty of falls throughout my lifetime, but none as serious as the one from that day.

My Troxel Legacy Helmet did exactly what it was suppose to do. Am I sad that I had to buy a new one? What horse person isn't upset when they have to spend their money on something for themselves, instead of their horses? But my Troxel helmet protected me from an unexpected accident, and allowed me to be here today to talk about it. Thank you Troxel for helping to save my life, I wouldn't be here today without you.

My 10 year old son was doing balance exercises without stirrups. This was his 5th lesson. He did extremely well the first time around the arena. During his 2nd trip around the arena ) in the opposite direction), he lost his balance. His body flipped back onto the horse's hindquarters which caused the horse to bolt and buck. My son was flipped off the hindquarters of the horse, was thrown 8-10 feet in the air, and landed on his back and head.

Thank goodness he was wearing his Troxel Legacy helmet with the dial fit. He walked away without a single head injury, to include no concussion. I dread to think of how bad it would have been if he wasn't wearing a properly fitted helmet.

It was Monday Feb. 13, 2012. I ride my horses to forget sometimes of the struggles that I am going through. For me riding is a way to escape, a time to relax. I have a Troxel helmet and I don't always wear one. I actually went out my front door without, it but something told me to go back in and get it, and so I did.

I then went to the barn and tacked up my horse, Cutter, which we have raised from a foal. I walked her back up to my arena and she was excited. So I decided to lunge her for about 15 minutes before I rode her. Now all I wanted to do that day was to walk around the barrel that I had set up in the middle of my arena. Just a relaxing ride is all I was wanting to do with her. I stopped her and put my left foot in the stirrup and swung my right foot over her back. I never had the chance to put my right foot in the stirrup. She bolted with me.

Now Cutter is my 6 year old APHA mare that I have had since the day she was born. She had never bolted before. I don't remember a whole lot but I know that I screamed and was trying my best to stop her. I pulled back on the reins, to no avail she wouldn't stop. I saw that we were headed for the fence but she turned at the last minute away from the fence. I was already on the side of her going down the hill. I remember my feet dragging the ground and then I pushed myself away from her so that I didn't get trampled. I remember flipping over like 3 or 4 times before I came to a full stop. The rest is in bits and pieces. My Husband had heard my scream and had looked out the window to see what was happening. Once he saw the riderless horse he quickly came to see if I was hurt. I know my husband went back to the house and called 911, came back and put a blanket over me. He caught and put up the horse for everyone's safety, then he helped guide the EMT's to where I was laying when they arrived.

I then was strapped down to a board and took to the airport to be sent on a life flight to Louisville trauma center. They thought that I had broken my femur in two places but after the X-rays and CT scan everything was better than expected, just some muscles torn away from the femur bone and a mild concussion. The life flight EMT's estimated from the shattered helmet that my impact was at 25+ mph. They said that if I wasn't wearing my helmet it would've been another outcome. The impact most likely would've killed me.

Even now five days later I am still having difficulties with dizziness and blurred vision. Yet I am very grateful to be alive to spend another day with my two young boys and husband. If not for the helmet I wouldn't have that chance. I am now a believer that a helmet can save your life, it did save mine. Now when I ride again, once I am able, I will be wearing my helmet. My boys will also be wearing one when they ride as well. I have seen from first hand experience the importance of wearing a helmet, quite literally it was the difference between living or dying. Just a look at the helmet will tell you what would have happened to my skull if I hadn't been wearing my helmet that day. Better the helmet than my skull. Dorothy Mann

Back in November, I was riding a 5 year old AQHA, Pride. We were doing great, when out of nowhere a tarp came flying by.

Pride was outta there before you could say "Whoa!" He bolted off in the other direction, swerved, and off I fell. I ended up underneath him, but luckilly for my helmet (which showed definite signs of being kicked and stepped on), all that I got was a bruised thigh. Thank goodness for Troxel helmets! (:

I was training my mustang mare, Sierra, earlier. She needs a lot of work done and I started over the weekend. So far she hadn't even offered to buck or spook at anything and I was feeling fairly confident. She was a but stubborn at first but we got going alright until something caused her to freak out. I held on as long as I could but my balance isn't always the best. I fell on my back and hit my head pretty hard. My foot and shoulder took a good bit of bruising but I made it through.

It was a quite Sunday evening that I chose to take my Japanese exchange student for a ride. We had the covered arena all to ourselves and as I was saddling up my Standardbred gelding for our ride I sized up my friends head for a helmet. I had to show her how to properly wear it as she was attempting to perch the helmet on the back of her head so not to crush her perfectly groomed bangs. My friend rode first while I glanced around the arena for garbage & debris pick-up as our arena was covered, it was not enclosed and the recent rain storm had blown in some bailing twine and stray branches into the arena. I noticed a few wet spots but didn't think anything of it. My student wanted to see me take my horse through his paces as she was only able to walk-trot. So I hoped on and began to go through a level 1 dressage pattern. We made it through the 1st half and I'd just picked up the canter to begin a circle when we hit a wet spot in the arena.

All I remember was my horses head coming up and his backside completely falling out from underneath me. I don't know how long I was out, but my trusty steed wasn't moving and was lying on top of me. My head was throbbing and I couldn't see straight. My friend was in a state of shock and I don't remember hearing anything, and she wasn't rushing to my side to help either. I don't remember how I got up, my horse unsaddled or how on earth I made it home, but I do remember the half-inch gash just above the visor on my Troxel helmet.

After explaining the fall to my doctor and showing him the helmet, he said it saved my life. All I walked away with was a mild concussion and bruising on my leg. My horse lucked out too and didn't have a scratch on him, just a little sore in his back for a few weeks. I am so thankful I was wearing my helmet and I still faithfully wear one every time I ride. I don't remember seeing the wet spot in the arena as I was riding, but upon later inspection the following day other riders told me there was a skid mark in the corner resembling a sliding stop. The trainer at the barn inspected the arena carefully and determined that there was not enough fill dirt in the arena and the hard clay underneath was saturated with water from the rains; it was just a matter of time before a horse went down.

Thank you, Thank you for saving my 10 year old daughters life. She was riding in early November and was thrown from her horse and landed on the back or her head/back and shattered the back of her helmet and all the bracing on the interior of the helmet.

She was not seriously injured, just a sore neck and back. We are so thankful she was wearing your helmet and will always wear your brand whenever she rides. Thank God she is ok and continues to ride. Thank you for such an excellent product! We have the helmet to remind other children she rides with how important is to take saftey first.

On September 23, 2010 Jordan Rice had a scheduled riding lesson @ Shoestring Stables located on Dent Road in Eads, TN she had tacked her horse Jazz and was walking him around waiting for her lesson to begin. Her grandfather turned to enter the barn to talk to her trainer and within 2 minutes; Jazz, her horse, came back into the barn headed straight for Roger without Jordan.

Roger immediately went outside to look for Jordan, he found her on the ground unconscious. He tried to get her to regain consciousness and she opened her eyes for a second then she was out. Both her trainer and grandfather tried to get Jordan to regain consciousness with no success. 911 was called and the ambulance arrived within 10 minutes they placed Jordan on a stretcher board with a neck brace and restraints to keep her immobile.

The EMT unit immediately called for the helicopter so she could be air lifted to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN. Jordan did let out a scream and was crying while the EMTs were talking to her to keep her calm, than she was sedated before transport. They would not let us ride in the helicopter so our friend drove us to the hospital. When we arrived, which seemed like an eternity, Jordan was already there being treated in ER.

We were not allowed to see her right away and police officers were interviewing us about the accident. She was then taken to have a CT scan of her head and upper torso. We were able to walk with her as she was wheeled to radiology. She was returned to the ER, as we waited outside in the hallway, and we could hear her crying and screaming, although we knew she was in the best care. The neurologist finally came outside to tell us the result of the CT scan. He said that Jordan’s head injury showed bleeding in the fluid parts of her brain, that there were no broken bones either in her neck or spine. He said her case was critical and was going to the ICU unit where she would be monitored 24 hours a day.

The doctor also told us if she had not been wearing her Troxel Helmet we would not be talking about her in the present tense. They attempted to put a breathing tube in but it was decided she didn’t need one as she was able to breathe on her own. Jordan was unconscious for 2 days, during that time we were able to be with her in ICU to talk to her and try to get her to wake up. Jordan was taken out of her neck brace after her second CT scan showed some swelling had gone down and there was still no evidence of broken neck or back. The doctors explained to us that she still had bleeding in her 1, 2 and 3rd ventricles but was showing signs that the blood was proceeding in its normal path and not increasing. We have so many friends and people we didn’t know, praying for her recovery, we will never be able to express our gratitude.

There was a Barrel Racing @ USA stadium on Saturday September 25th, a prayer was said for Jordan @ approximately 2:00 P. M. At about 3:15 P.M she regained consciousness and when Jordan did wake, she let out her first word, “Papa”. We immediately to give everyone @ USA Stadium the good news and we were told when the announcement was made there was a roaring of cheers, whistles and clapping along with hugs for our family. That moment was so special to us and to this day, it still comforts our hearts. She was transferred from ICU to a room on Monday and was allowed to come home the following Wednesday.

Jordan had short term memory loss but in the 3 weeks that followed she has regained her total memory except what actually happened that fateful day. Dr. Frederick Boop said Jordan can’t ride her horses until early December. She is anxious to return to her horseback riding but until than she is doing ground work under the guidance of her trainers. We never anticipated the people that came into our lives at this crucial period. Roger and I have never experienced the amount of love the equine community gave us, not to mention our neighbors on Brookview Cove. I think that we didn’t realized how many lives entered ours and Jordan’s. We weren’t aware that Jordan had affected by such generous souls. We are in awe of how we were embraced by the enormous outpouring of prayers and acts of kindness. God has blessed us, by giving us the ultimate gift of her life. We don’t know how to express how humble we are in the Grace of such wonderful and selfless people. Thank you is never enough.

UPDATE 2011

What a difference a year can make! Thank you Troxel Helmet Company. To say that Roger and I are extremely blessed cannot begin to give you a visual of how our lives have changed. Since the beginning of 2011, Jordan resumed riding her horse Jazz again and worked diligently to bring their connection back to where they left off on that fateful day of 23 September 2010.

Jazz is one of those amazing horses we all recognize, he took care of Jordan on that day and continues to love her as much as ever, she will forever be aware of what he means to her, and together they resumed that familiar thing once again while riding at LASC. In the months that followed, Jordan has had the opportunity to ride a different horse so that she could get to understand the concept of how a seasoned barrel horse ran the barrel pattern.

She began a different journey on her new horse “Dusty”. Together they have met new challenges this year. Jordan and Dusty took their first quest together to NBHA Youth World in Jackson, TN in July 2011. They became champions in their own right. Together, as a team they placed in second in 5D and made it back to finals. From there to the Fortune 5 barrel show in Tunica, MS in November, where they placed first in Youth 4D!

We owe our deepest and most sincere thanks to Troxel for virtually saving our Jordan. We always keep these words at the forefront of everything that concerns Jordan and the horses she rides, REMEMBER TO WEAR YOUR HELMET BEFORE GETTING ON YOUR HORSE. A Troxel helmet is part of Jordan’s existence and as natural a part of her life as breathing.

My sweet Quarter horse had been lame for about four weeks, so when the vet said it would be OK to saddle him up and walk him in the round pen I was really ready. But while saddling him up I noticed an uneasiness about him. Was it the sound of the new corrective shoes on the concrete? Maybe it was the new saddle I was trying out.

Whatever the reason, he just wasn't himself. So as I lead him down the breezeway of the barn towards the round pen, almost as an after thought, I reached over and picked up my daughters helmet. I ALWAYS make her wear her helmet as she is only eight and just learning to ride. I myself seldom wear one unless riding by myself, with no one else in the vicinity.

On this particular Saturday, everyone was here. My daughter in the house watching TV and my husband working around the place. After reaching the round pen and mounting up I traveled one time around to the left and then turned him and began traveling to the right. All I remember is he started crow hopping and I heard his new aluminum shoe hitting the corral panel. As best we can determine I must have been thrown, knocked unconscious, and laid there for around 10 minutes.

When my husband found us I was trying to crawl and my horse was standing there, confused and trapped in the pen. After a trip to the hospital, CT scan and other test I was released to go home and nurse my concussion. You know as a mom it's not even a question, my child MUST wear her helmet. And from now on, I'll be wearing mine too! Even in the relative safety of a round pen. I'm convinced if not for my Troxel helmet the outcome would have been much, much different. I've sooo much to be Thankful for this season. Thanks Troxel!

It was a gorgeous late September day in upstate New York, the sky's brilliant blue framing the changing color burst of leaves, when I tacked up my 11 year-old palomino Appy, Carmelo, and grabbed my helmet as I left the barn.

I was excited to be going on my first official trail ride with Carmelo, my very first horse, a "rescue", I had purchased the previous spring. He was extremely thin, with very little muscling in his hind quarters when I bought him,and much greener than I was led to believe, so that my goal over the summer was to improve his stability by practicing lots of transitions in the arena and had been spending much of our time focusing on ground work and simple walk-trot exercises. When the stable owner invited us to join 8-10 other riders on the Monday trail ride, I was 90% excited and 10% concerned. The trails are rough and mountainous, and I wasn't completely certain that either one of us was up for the challenge - I'm 64 and have been riding about 8 years - making me a intermediate rider on an untested horse.

Carmelo proved he was more than up for the challenge, however. He was fearless and fairly sure-footed, even when we had to canter up the rough terrain. We had been out for several hours and the sky was turning dusky when the owner enthusiastically called back to us that we were going to "run" the horses, and the 3 or 4 teenage students ahead of me must have taken off - I have no memory of anything past that point, but I know Carmelo must have assumed the goblins were going to get us, so he took off, too.

I'm told I stayed on for a quarter of a mile or so, until we came to the bend in the trail where the others were stopped and waiting for us. Carmelo must have been a reining horse in his old life, because I'm told he came to a perfect skidding stop. He forgot, however, to give me the memo. I catapulted through the air, landing head first on the left side, before I somehow flipped over, and stopped face down, with the visor of the helmet buried into the dirt. I was knocked totally unconscious for over 5 minutes or more.

The EMTs who transported me to the emergency room asked if I had worn a helmet, since it had been removed by the other riders. The attending physician asked the same question in the ER. The neurosurgeon who was called in also asked about my helmet. After several CT scans showed blood on the brain, and I spent the next several days in the hospital, the surgeon emphasized that as serious as my brain injury was, without my helmet, I most likely would not have survived, or at the least been tramatically injured.

So, Troxel, I thank you for saving my brain and most likely, my life. My helmet was not as fortunate as my head, as it cracked the opposite side, due to the impact. Since I was only one of two riders wearing a helmet that day, I can only hope that my accident has been a wake up call to the other riders who most likely would not have survived. I've been grounded for 6 weeks, but my new helmet is ordered and I can hardly wait to get back in the saddle...with Troxel. I cannot find the words to thank you enough. I'm a tough old granny, but Troxel is tougher, thankfully!!

Most of us who have been riding for a lifetime never imagine that disaster is so close at hand. I've been riding the same trails for 15 years and was just finishing a 15 mile ride with my riding partner when things took a bizarre change that almost took my life.

At a walk, I was coming down that last hill on a trail that's about 3 feet wide with a 100' steep embankment at my right. My horse tripped on his right toe, went down to his knees and the slight decline of the trail to the right brought him over onto his right side. Within a blink of an eye I found myself pinned under my horse, up to my shoulders, between the ground and a 3ft wire fence. He struggled to get up, grinding me into the ground, but the angle of the trail kept him solidly on top of me.

Thanks to my riding partner's quick response 20 minutes later paramedics and police came to my aid soon deciding that shooting my horse was the only way to save me. My horse gave one last try to get up only this time he came back down hard enough onto me to break the fence post we had been pinned against. He then rolled all the way over the top of me and dragged me with him down the embankment. My head took the full weight of his shoulders as he crossed over me. I suffered a broken nose, bruises and contusions to my mastoid bone, cheekbone, temple and neck but my Troxel Sierra helmet saved my life.

I have no doubt that I would have had massive head injury without it. Please, please never ride without a helmet and never settle for anything less than the quality of a Troxel. My horse and I are both doing well and we'll be out there riding again soon. Thank you to my riding partner Jayne for saving my life by being prepared, carrying her cell phone and keeping her calm. Huge kisses to my 5yr old Casanova who saved us both with his calm, trusting demeanor. I know without a doubt that if he had struggled more I wouldn't be here to tell this story. Thank you again Troxel...this happy ending belongs to you!