Falling off At 37
I’ve seen a few posts about “older” riders concerned about starting to ride or continuing to ride and wanted to give my four cents as a 37 year old late-life jumper.
I had a horse as a child, but hadn’t ridden in ages and started again at a great barn at 35. I have loved learning how to jump! Over the last couple years, I had my fair share of spills with no injuries aside from a bruise or two.
However, a month ago, I fell off during a sharp turn and landed dead on my shoulder, badly breaking my collarbone. The only positive was that I didn’t land in the nearby puddle of pee and the doctor who appeared my age kept calling me “kiddo.” Bless you, sir.
After surgery my doc told me I can’t ride for twelve weeks (9 to go fml). During my time off I’ve had time to mull over the incident. It was a substantial injury and extremely painful and I briefly had the thought: “Is this too dangerous? Should I quit?” But the more I thought about it the more I realized how much I miss it now and would miss it if I stopped completely.
Injuries happen. Sometimes life-altering injuries. But I could have broken my collarbone in a car collision. Or skiing, or hiking, or tripping over my oblivious poodle while walking down the stairs holding a laundry basket. Hell, my aunt broke hers slipping on ice.
The point is, with riding there is risk of serious injury, especially when you’re older and your bones don’t bounce back like they used to! But I decided that the joy of riding far outweighs the risks for me and I want to live a life I can look back on without regrets.
Don’t let fear get in the way of something you love because life is short and jumping is like flying and flying is the bomb. Obviously wear a helmet, maybe invest in an air vest, go to the gym, and take calcium (but not unnecessary risks). Life will remind you you’re not twenty anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy riding.
Oh and the best part? I’m going to get a tattoo where the scar is the fence and a horse is jumping over it while the rider is falling off! That way when people ask what happened I can just point.
Obligatory photo of the goober mustang Marley. She’s the sweetest, spiciest little thing and I miss her desperately!