War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

morris stiles — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:36:10 GMT

as a ex jockey, and life long horseman,in multiple disciplines, ihave to say. i probaly would not be here, if it werent for the old brain bucket, skid lid,dirt bonnet or whatever they are called. the bad thing is the manafactors have priced the avrege person out of the market.have you priced a helment for a child lately?

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Robin from Maryland — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:24:20 GMT

Neat little video. War Admiral was a chip off the ol block in his racing ability, but I'm not sure about his overall stallion stats. We also need to remember that in the Belmont, WA grabbed a quarter tore half his hoof off,and still won - Big Heart!!! Evidently had blood splattered everywhere upon post race exam. As a former rider, Hunt seat and cross country I always wore a helmet and it had all the scrapes on it. I currently work in an ER and cannot stress enough the use of helmets for any activity/sport that would have a chance of head injury. The brain is a terrible thing to waste.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

aspradling — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:30:16 GMT

I apologize for my delay in approving everyone's comments!!! That is totally my fault.

Thank you for the memories and I will always advocate a helmet on a horse, on a bike or on a motorcycle. Hell's Angel or not =)

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

whoapony — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:42:13 GMT

Thanks for the video and the reminder of the importance of helmets. Recently, Courtney Kind-Dye, a dressage rider who represented the U.S. in the Olympics, suffered a severe head injury when the horse she was riding tripped. Racing and the different equestrian sports that involved jumping are much better about using safety gear than western and dressage riders. Ms. King-Dye's accident has started a push for dressage riders to wear helmets in training and competition. I hope all readers of this blog strap on a helmet whenever they ride, no matter easy the ride or quiet the horse.

This video is a trip down memory lane for me. It's from a video I own called "Jewels of the Triple Crown" narrated by Jim McKay. It's a great overview of the lives and careers of all eleven winners of the crown told by a racing legend. Find a copy and check it out if you can.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

merlinmerry — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:13:20 GMT

I've always thought that it was such a shame that the movie Seabiscuit had to do such a nasty number on the Admiral. I almost choked on my popcorn when the film's characters spoke of the "almost 18 hand giant," War Admiral.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

spitting the bit — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:34:13 GMT

That was great! Thanks for sharing it.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

longtimeracingfan — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:26:46 GMT

Wow, what a great video... and did you notice the way they were loaded in the starting gate for the Derby? NO GATES; a handler at the head of every horse. And the race with Seabiscuit--- was a walk-up start. Can you see THAT these days? Can you hear the squawks?

Thanks so much for sharing this!! Can you put it in a video archive so we can access it in future?

Absolutely support the helmets. I started out western and bareback, without a helmet (was before helmets, truth be told!) and came off many a time, and now looking back it is a bit surprising I didn't have worse injuries than I did.... thankfully no head injuries, but that's just a matter of chance.

BUT--- that said, you still won't see western riders in helmets, and some of the disciplines are as tricky as the English ones and racing... part of it is the saddles, the seat is much more secure than an English or racing style.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

LadyValtaya — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:36:41 GMT

What a nice little video of War Admiral! Thanks for posting it. And about the helmets, you can never be too careful around horses. Whether they are backyard pets or runners safety is important so this is a great idea. ^_^

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Lynn — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:53:58 GMT

Loved it! Wonderful history and two wonderful horses.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Bellwether — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:08:21 GMT

GOOD STUFF...ty...

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

christy tate — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:43:47 GMT

really neat to see the old racing footage. glad there's a helmet campaign. i've always been a big supporter of people wearing protective gear for any sport.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Leon Abadie — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:29:43 GMT

Thanks for the video of War Admirals achievements. Truly spectacular. I got really interested in racing in 1946. It was a wonderful time to start following the Sport. The big stables were Calumet, William G Hellis, Mainchance Farm,F.W. Hooper,and many other topnotch stables. It was the Golden Era for racing.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Deborah — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:25:48 GMT

The War Admiral video is just great! It is too bad that they do not run this way now; 11 races at 4! Why are so many retired at 3? That Seabiscuit was a great one, too. Both of these small stallions were so full of stamina; Man O War sure produced good ones! It is time to get busy and breed and train some horses like these were for today's track. People are tired of these wimps that run a few and retire.

Deborah

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Jacquibs — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:05:43 GMT

I wonder if American breeders could take a lesson from August Belmont II and seek out stout English blood. How much does a date with Yeats cost?

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

PMAC14 — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:57:57 GMT

Awesome!

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

TerriV — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:50:13 GMT

What a great video!!! I've never seen War Admiral's Triple Crown all together like that. Well done piece of equine racing history. Just loved it!

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

txhorsefan — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:45:23 GMT

Thanks for a great video, Adam! I love those old newsreel footage races even though they are grainy and hard to see. It's our only chance to glimpse the great ones from the past. Thank you for digging it up and sharing it with us.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

s lee — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:03:00 GMT

What a great video, thanks! I'd never seen War Admiral's Derby and Preakness.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Slew — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:27:41 GMT

Is that Jim McKay I hear?...great clip. Now...exactly what does a film of War Admiral have to do with helmet safety? Maybe a more in depth blog was needed?

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Bellwether — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:31:04 GMT

GREAT U TUBE...GOOD PUBLIC SERVICE TOO...LONG LIVE THE KING!!!...ty...

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Otherlyn — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:32:05 GMT

Thank you for sharing this treasure! Where in the world does one find such gems? WAR ADMIRAL is breathtaking. I am now eager to learn more about this "most-est horse.' God Bless 'Em All!

Your FOB Fren, O

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

goodwin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:44:09 GMT

After what happened to Courtney King-Dye, even the upper level Olympic dressage riders, like Sue Blinks, are leaving the top hat behind, and donning the helmet. We lost Ricardo Amaya.

Please wear a helmet.

period.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Linda — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:42:06 GMT

Thank you for the great video. Hum. 20 horses ran in that derby. He broke from the number one post. War Admiral overcame all of the obstacles todays thoroughbred cannot. They just dont make em like him or train horses like they used to.

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Lyndsey — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:41:18 GMT

Thank you so much for sharing this Adam. The website is www.riders4helmets.com

re: War Admiral Video and Helmet Awareness

Stacey — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:29:06 GMT

Most upper level dressage riders don't wear helmets, but after Olympic veteran Courtney King-Dye spent nearly a month in a coma after fracturing her skull in a freak accident while riding a young horse, ASTM approved helmets suddenly began appearing in great numbers on the prestigious winter show circuit in Wellington, FL.

And it was not just the lower level amateurs wearing them. Some of the top riders in the US and Canada wore them not just in the warm up for their internationally recognized FEI classes, but some actually wore them in place of the traditional top hat with their tail coats.

It's hard to say how long this helmet "trend" will continue, but in the dressage community the silver lining of a terrible accident was a brutal reality check and increased awareness in traumatic head injuries and the importance of wearing an approved helmets with a harness.

Thank you for the War Admiral video. I was nice to hear Jim McKay's voice again.