Mind Your Melon: Figuring Out a Way To Fit In
Last month, Brianna Noble shared this video discussing the dilemma surrounding helmet fit, staying true to her identity, and determining how best to fit in in a community where most equestrians don’t look like her.
Over the past couple of years, we have offered videos on Wednesdays in a Mind Your Melon. The goal of this series was to remind riders to protect their brain buckets by wearing helmets.
In recent months, these videos have fallen by the wayside. However, today, we would like to bring it back with this video from Brianna Noble.
Noble — through her Instagram account @urbancowgril510 — discusses the need for helmets that fit the mold of most equestrians. She relays an incident when she went with her friend to her jumping show to support her and expose her horse to new experiences. Noble was on her horse when she was asked to dismount because she was not wearing a helmet.
She makes the point that she doesn’t always feel welcome because there isn’t a way for her to participate safely in a sport that has gear that is not made for people who look like her.
“What that means for me and how welcome I feel to really take part in things — even in supporting my friend today in her jumping round — is I really don’t feel welcome. And not because I disagree with the rules. And not because I disagree with people wearing helmets. I just don’t know where I personally fit in because all of this hair? There is not a single helmet out there that fits my head safely.”
Take a moment to watch this video and think about what it means to fit in and how to do so safely when equipment is not manufactured for every equestrian:
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Brianna Noble ends her video with this:
“Here I am, as an ambassador for diversity in our sports, and you see people trying. And here I am, taking a walk down the street on my horse. I should be at a show supporting my friend because even I don’t feel welcome. Again, not because of the people, not because of the rules of the barn that I do agree with, but simply being somebody that is different and wondering how, being different, I stay true to myself and figure out a way to fit in.”
