On Oct. 17 British Eventing announced they would place an immediate ban on helmet cameras in all BE affiliated events.
As a result, organizers at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International (Md.) decided not to allow helmet cams on cross-country in the CCI** and CCI*** this weekend.
British Eventing’s statement cites safety issues as the reason behind the ban. Jonathan Clissold, the technical delegate at Fair Hill who’s also the National Safety Officer for BE and sits on their safety committee, said that more tests would be carried out to determine if helmet cams posed a safety risk.
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“Under FEI rules, the use of helmet cams is at the discretion of the organizer, and British Eventing have decided to suspend the use of helmet cams following legal advice,” he said. “There’s been a lot in the European press recently about Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident, and there have been suggestions that the camera might have been involved in the fall and might have caused his helmet to be compromised. The safety of horse and rider is paramount, and if we’re worried about something, it would be silly not to react to it.”
Clissold received a request from a two-star rider to use a helmet cam but ultimately decided to deny the request after consulting with officials.
“I talked to Trish Gilbert, the organizer here, and she felt that it was best to follow British Eventing’s line and not use them,” he said.
