A new law has been introduced in Florida making the wearing of helmets compulsory for junior riders under the age of 16. The new law has also been named ‘Nicole’s law‘ after a 12 year old girl who was killed in a riding accident in 2006.

The last time I rode without a riding hat was in my teens, which was more than 25 years ago in the UK. I can’t remember what prompted me to go from riding with a hat most of the time to all of the time. I thought that the use of riding hats was compulsory in the UK but from some initial research on the internet, my current understanding is that it is compulsory for riders under 14 years of age on the road in the UK. I’ll investigate this further.

I don’t know the US federal or state laws regarding the wearing of a riding hat. If anyone knows more about this, I’d be very interested in this information.

Not only is the wearing of a hat important but the type of hat and its fitting is also important.  With safety levels and design improving all the time, I would recommend buying a design of the current highest standard and getting this properly fitted. The fitting should be checked on a regular basis as this will change with wear.

During work for the expansion of Panama Canal, a set of horse fossil teeth have been found and estimated from approx 18 million years ago. The teeth confirm that 15 to 18 million years ago, horses were forest-dwelling browsers. During this early stage of their development horses were also three toed. Geologists hope to unearth more important finds as the expansion work continues.

I had hoped that Mine That Bird would run another great race and win the Belmont Stakes. I had checked his pedigree before the race and his sire Birdstone had won the race so I thought he should have sufficient stamina.

When I saw the pace slow in the second half of the  race and Mine That Bird move through the field before the turn, I had mixed feelings - he would either win by a long way or slow when he hit the front earlier than usual and be beaten. The latter proved to be the case.

I had seen the winning horse Summer Bird in the parade and it caught my eye as chestnut horses often do. When the commentator said its sire was Birdstone also, I thought it may have a good chance, but the commentator also mentioned its previous form which did not sound so positive.

The result was a good story on two fronts - a horse by Birdstone did win the race but not the expected one, and the winning jockey had not won the Belmont Stakes before and was very disappointed last year when his horse, the favourite for the race, Big Brown pulled up.

There was another ‘bird’ sport story at the weekend when Jonathan Byrd took the lead in the latter stages of the Memorial Golf event, only to be beaten by Tiger Woods with birdies on the last two holes!

We were away on holiday for the Kentucky Derby but did hear the result that a 50-1 shot called Mine That Bird had won. We arrived back in the US before the Preakness Stakes and managed to see TV coverage of both races. There were a number of interesting stories from the two events.

I liked the small gelding Mine That Bird and was pleased that he ran well in the Preakness to prove that the Kentucky Derby win was not a fluke. He only cost $9500 as a yearling but ran a great race with a big finishing sprint to win the Kentucky Derby and had a great finish again in the Preakness to finish second.

I thought that Rachel Alexandra looked to be a superstar from her winning of the Kentucky Oaks and her win in the Preakness against the colts/geldings on ground that she did not like was a testament to her ability. I looked at her pedigree to see where her ability may have came from and the name that stood out was Sadler’s Wells, who is a great stallion. Perhaps the most interesting story was the possible breeding of Rachel Alexandra with Curlin which should in theory produce a superstar of the future.

It has just been anounced that Rachel Alexandra will not run in the Belmont Stakes. This will mean that there is a possibility of a Jockey Triple Crown for Calvin Borel. He rode Mine That Bird to victory in Kentucky, and then switched to ride and win on Rachel Alexander. He is now expected to switch back to Mine That Bird for the Belmont Stakes. I expect the bookmakers are feeling nervous!

The UK Government is considering a reduction in the speed limit on single lane rural roads from 60mph to 50mph. This is being welcomed by the British Horse Society although this proposal does not go all the way in reducing speeds to the levels they would like given the number of riders on such roads. Anything to help the safety of horses and riders, cars and their passengers sounds like a good idea to me.