Reducing Rider Risk The LandSafe Rider Fall Safety System

By J. Harris Anderson, Managing Editor Leslie Threlkeld Photos, Courtesy of Eventing Nation

Take a former jump jockey and high level eventer, toss in a nationally ranked gymnast, add a mechanical horse with a naughty streak, and you have the recipe for the LandSafe Rider Fall Safety System.

Launched in 2016 by Danny and Keli Warrington, the mission of Landsafe is to teach riders how to minimize the risk of serious injury, especially to the head and neck, when the inevitable fall happens. Their inspiration was sparked several years ago by an upsurge in eventing-related accidents, particularly rotational falls, occurring at the time. The principles, however, apply to any equestrian discipline where you find yourself in that “Oh, crap!” moment where you know you’re going down and the difference between a minor spill and serious injury may be measured in milliseconds.

“Our goals are to save lives, reduce injuries, and increase safety education,” Danny stated in a 2017 Eventing Nation article. “I want people to understand that they’re not victims, that they have a choice in that moment during a fall and that there is training out there.”

Danny has had ample opportunity to experience what falling off a horse feels like. He began riding at the age of three. His father whipped-in to the old Vicmead Hunt in Warwick, Maryland, and Danny was foxhunting off the leadline by the time he was five. The need for more speed led him away from hunting and Pony Club to the action of the racetrack. But when a teenage growth spurt put him north of six feet, his dream to race on the flat was foiled. So he turned to the most likely alternative—steeplechase.

He trained under the tutelage of Gene Weymouth and Hall of Famers Jonathan Sheppard, Mikey Smithwick, and Janet Eliot. Danny racked up his first official race at 17 and spent the next ten-plus years riding over fences.

A sabbatical away from the horse world followed but the siren song of equestrian pursuits soon called him back. This time the path led from the track to the world of international three-day eventing. Once again, he sought out the leading figures in that arena to partner with including Bruce Davidson, Karen O’Connor, Jimmy Wofford, and Phillip Dutton. It was in the cross-country phase of the program that he noticed how accidents tended to go in cycles. “We don’t have an accident for a while,” he said during a Horse Talk podcast in 2018, “and we have one or two and then we have these years that are just brutal.”

It occurred to him that other sports, such as martial arts and gymnastics, include safety training at the basic stages to reduce the risk of injury. Over his many years working with horses in a range of disciplines, he had seen little or nothing in the way of a structured program to apply that to the equestrian world.

From these observations came the seed that grew into the LandSafe Rider Fall Safety System.

Happily, Danny had the perfect colleague to help make that a reality—his wife Keli. An accomplished gymnast who was nationally ranked for over ten years, she shifted her focus to eventing, rode through the CCI* level, and served as rider and groom for top eventers such as Jane Sleeper and Stuart Black. The serendipitous combination of skills as both a gymnast and equestrian, aided by a degree in business from West Chester University, made for an ideal match to Danny’s mission to teach riders self-preservation skills in a safe and controlled environment. Years spent watching, studying, and developing an understanding of riders’ reactions, both instinctual and learned, have enabled him to teach what is missing between reaction and response.

Danny retired from eventing in 2016 to devote his full attention to researching and developing the LandSafe program. In the course of that research, he came upon the work of Australian Lindsay Nylund, an Olympic athlete and coach, and his Horse Rider Fall Safety Training program. Nylund invited the Warringtons to come Down Under for training and collaboration as a way to get Landsafe kickstarted in the States.

Armed with that head start, plus their own expertise, they needed just one more partner to get things (literally) rolling. Enter “Punky.” Mechanical horses have come a long way since the days of the coin-operated steed outside the Woolworth that lured little buckaroos to throw a leg over, drop in a quarter, and go for a ride. At least with old Thunderbolt the chances of getting dumped off were pretty slim. Not so with Punky. He sits on a 24-foot track fitted with hydraulic gears that can be operated to simulate bucking, spinning, and other moves at varying speeds, all guaranteed to send the rider onto the inflatable mats that surround his domain. (We assume Punky is a gelding, although many of the moves in that bag of tricks seem more mare-ish).

What happens in the split seconds between the rider leaving the saddle and hitting the mats is the core of what Landsafe is all about.

But not so fast. Before anyone swings a leg over this steed-of-steel, some prep work is required. And it also involves the core—core strength.

The two-day clinic begins with two hours of gymnastics focused on the correct ways to shape, roll, position arms and wrists, balance, body awareness, and the control needed to become competent in a dive roll. The objective is to lay a foundation for the muscle memory needed to instinctively execute the moves to decrease the risk of serious injury. Students are shown how to form the “brace position” to create the “crash mat” that protects the head and neck using the wrists and elbows. Rolling is then the finishing move to diffuse the force of ground impact.

This follows Newton’s Second Law of Motion: F=MA (Force equals Mass times Acceleration). Reduce the mass by tucking and diffuse the force by rolling. Or, as one participant put it, “tucking is better than splatting.”

But, you say, doesn’t a good quality helmet provide sufficient protection for your head? That depends on how you define “sufficient.” A properly constructed helmet may lower the risk of head injury resulting from a fall. But given sufficient impact, the brain can still suffer a concussion from bouncing around within the skull. The objective of the LandSafe method it to help further reduce the force of impact, thus adding another safety element that works in concert with the cushioning provided by an approved helmet. (See page 12 for our review of Virginia Tech’s ratings for equestrian helmets.)

Moreover, the “crash mat” position also provides additional protection for the neck. Danny concedes that using the arms and wrists to protect the rider’s head and neck puts those extremities at risk. But in a worst-case scenario, which is less disastrous, a broken arm or a broken neck? Wear an arm cast for a few weeks? Or…well, no need to spell out the possible consequences of the other outcome.

Another technical principle at play in the Landsafe concept is proprioception. Also known as kinesthesia, it’s your body’s ability to sense movement, action, and location. It’s what enables a gymnast to flip and roll in the air and still land squarely on her feet. When you see an NFL receiver leap up to catch a pass along the sideline and come down with his toes just an inch inbounds, that’s his proprioception functioning at an exponentially high level.

Proprioception is activated by mechanosensory neurons located within muscles, tendons, and joints. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to move without thinking about your next step. While some people may be gifted with a higher level of this trait, it can be improved with training and exercise. For example, Tai Chi improves lower limb proprioception and yoga helps improve balance and muscle strength.

A two-day Landsafe clinic can help lay the foundation to build the specific muscle memory needed to reflexively activate that “crash mat brace position” and forcedefusing roll.

After working to build basic gymnastic skills, it’s on to Punky to practice transferring those skills to actual falls. Keli and Danny take turns with one operating the simulator controls while the other serves as spotter and coach, critiquing each fall and providing constructive input.

The second day of the clinic follows a similar schedule, starting with a refresher on the basic gymnastic skills and tips on how to continue strengthening those skills working on your own. Meanwhile, Punky is no doubt watching and thinking of new tricks to throw at his riders during the latter portion of Day Two.

Clinics are currently scheduled in multiple states running from February through July. To find out more about the LandSafe Rider Fall Safety System, visit www.LandSafeEquestrian.com.