I was riding in the mountains with my two girlfriends 2.5 months ago. We were galloping and Jaxon my horse decided at the last second to avoid a puddle, caught the edge of it, slipped and I hit a tree.
After I hit the ground and finally got my bearings back I knew it wasn’t good. I told my one girlfriend to ride for help as we had no reception and the other to catch my horse. We were about 6km from the parking lot at this point.
I knew my left hand was broken and my right shoulder wasn’t where it was supposed to be. On top of it all, I had blood rushing down my face as I had cut over half my eyelid open. When my girlfriend came back with my horse I realized there was no way I was getting back on as both arms were pooched. So I said to her, I need to start moving or I’m going to pass out and who knew how long before rescue would find me.
So I managed to walk for 1.5 hours down the mountain to where the ambulance was waiting for me. The rescue team was still searching.
Damage = shattered left wrist into many pieces, put back together with a plate and many screws along with completely ripped tendons and ligaments that needed reattaching. Dislocated shoulder along with complete separation and a ripped eyelid that needed some stitches.
Helmet versus tree: tree won, helmet cracked. 100% guarantee that without the helmet and how hard I hit that tree, I would not be here today! Now I need a new helmet!