"You are only alive because you wore a helmet!"

Hi. Im Wyatt French and I would like to tell you about my riding accident and why its important to wear a helmet.

On May 30, I was getting ready to have a riding lesson and when I went to get on my horse, I accidentally kicked my horse in the side and scared him enough to make it want to run away. I also made some other mistakes...like skipping my ground work, and trying to stay on while my horse was running away with me. I should have stepped down or jumped off and then helped my horse to calm down and safely try again.

When I fell off, my horse Cosmo was at a full gallop and bucking as well. I hit the ground hard and hit my head on my right side. I was completely unconscious for 3 hours. I had to be taken by ambulance to one hospital and helicopter life flighted to another hospital. I had the most severe type of concussion.

The doctors originally said I had sheered my brain loose from my skull and had two areas that were bleeding. They said I had a 10 percent chance of recovering fully if at all. I am now making a full recovery and have had no problems. I have had 5 different doctors tell me I am seriously lucky and wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for my helmet.