A rider whose hat fell off before his head hit the road has urged others to wear safety helmets with appropriate fastenings – after he fractured his skull and spent 10 days in hospital.
Neville Woodes Rogers was taken to A&E after his fall on Boxing Day, where he was scanned and sent home. But days later, he went back to hospital as he had a leak of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which protects the brain and spinal cord.
He is now recovered and back at work, but he told H&H he will never again ride without a chinstrap.
“When I go hacking out, I wear a proper hat, but I wanted to look good,” he said. “End of story.”
Neville said he and his 17hh Irish draught Roscoe hacked to the meet on a “perfect day”.
“My horse was clipped and plaited, my boots shining,” he said. “The meet was well attended and I felt proud entering the square, it was a beautiful English scene.”
Neville said he was not entirely hunting fit, so when the hunt headed up to the moor, he left to hack home. It was during a canter on a wide verge that Roscoe tripped.
“We were cantering along, so together, and it was just one of those things,” he said. “He stumbled, tried to correct himself and his foot went down a dip and I came out of the side.
“I was heading for the ground and my hat came off. I hit the road and split my head open.”
Neville was knocked out but passing drivers came to his aid, and called an ambulance.
After an MRI, which confirmed the skull fracture, he was sent home.
“After a couple of days at home, I was doing things as normal, then my nose started dripping,” he said. “I thought ‘I’m turning into an old man’! But I looked at the list the hospital had given me and saw fluid from the nose was on it. I rang the GP, who said ‘Get to a neurological ward, now’.”
Neville had to spend 10 days in hospital while the CSF fluid was drained off and his skull healed.
“It was pretty serious; I’m extremely lucky,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have had the head injury if my hat had stayed on, and the only reason I wore that hat is because I wanted to look good. I think that’s the case for a lot of us, except the sensible ones who wear proper hats.
“I’ll definitely wear a hat with a chinstrap from now on. When you’re out trail-hunting, you’re vulnerable to having an accident, and we were just having a beautiful canter but he stumbled; it can happen to anyone.”
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