When you think of dangerous sports, you might think of skydiving, rock climbing, or off-road racing.
Even football has made headlines in recent years for causing injuries such as traumatic brain injuries.
However, research suggests that horseback riding could be one of America’s most dangerous sports, resulting in at least 100 deaths a year — and as many as 700 by some estimates.
The danger was highlighted this month when a teenage Florida rider died when her horse tripped and fell on top of her. Hannah Serfass, 15, was competing in an event in Venice, Florida, when the accident happened. The 12-year-old horse, named Quaxx, tripped and fell from a rotation.
A 2021 study from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley suggested that horseback riding carries the greatest risk of injury. This finding was based on the data shown here of injuries sustained over a ten-year period
After the death of Mrs. Serfass, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) said it “takes any accident very seriously and will thoroughly assess the accident to learn what we can do to minimize the risks and increase safety in equestrian sport.”
A 2021 study from researchers at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) concluded that horseback riding was the most dangerous sport in America.
“The risk of hospitalization from equestrian injuries is greater than for football, auto racing and skiing,” wrote the authors of the paper, which was published in the journal Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open.
A 2014 report from the US Consumer and Product Safety Commission found that the hospitalization rate for horseback riding injuries was 16.6 percent higher than the next activity: all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or motorcycles.
Soccer, long considered very dangerous due to the high percentage of professional players who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, doesn’t even measure up.
A 2021 study by the National Center for Research on Catastrophic Sports Injuries found an average of 20 deaths among footballers of all levels that season. Only four were directly related to injuries sustained on the field.
Hannah Serfass, 15, died last week after her horse tripped and fell on top of her
Mrs. Serfass had been a talented athlete all her life, first as a gymnast, then as an equestrian and track and field star
Stefan Keryan, 8, of Denver, Colorado, was knocked off a horse while on a family vacation in Belize. He was then dragged along the sidewalk for two miles before the horse was stopped
In addition, a study of the National Athletic Trainers Association looked at deaths among high school basketball players between 2007 and 2015. The researchers found 11 deaths in 2015 and an average of five per year overall.
Horseback riding has also been shown to cause serious damage.
Last December, eight-year-old Stefan Keryan of Denver was seriously injured after he fell off his horse and was dragged along the sidewalk for two miles. He suffered third-degree burns, a fractured skull and a bruised brain.
“I heard screaming and I looked around and like [the horse was] When I run past, I see that the saddle has turned over and that my son is being dragged by his foot’, mother of Stefan. Heidi Keryan, told Good Morning America. “My eldest daughter and I started yelling and screaming and running as fast as we could to get to him, but that horse was really fast.”
Although the boy is believed to have survived his injuries, he required intensive medical intervention.
The UTRGV researchers looked at data from the National Trauma Data Bank, the nation’s largest database of trauma-related medical information. They found that between 2007 and 2016, 45,671 patients visited a trauma center with horse riding injuries.
About 88 percent of these patients in the database who went to the hospital had injuries serious enough to require admission.
Injuries to the chest were reported most often, followed by injuries to the head, arms and legs.
The researchers also said nearly 75 percent of deaths were from head or neck injuries.
Injuries are common in equestrian sports. For example, a study from 2021 University of Ohio found that 81 percent of riders had suffered an injury at some point in their riding career. About 21 percent of those participants had sustained a serious injury.
The researchers concluded that of all sports in the US, equestrian sports are the most common cause of sports-related traumatic brain injury in adults.
In addition, the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) estimates that in 2017, more than 48,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for horse riding injuries.
Some of the most common horse riding injuries include the head, ankles, chest and wrists.
A 2019 study in the journal Sports medicine found that 70 percent of reported equestrian falls resulted in head injuries. The researchers also noted that wearing a properly fitted helmet may reduce the likelihood of serious injuries, such as skull fractures.
A 2018 study from the journal Convincing food and agriculture found that the number one cause of death is riders falling off their horses. This accounted for 83.4 percent of the incidents.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends that all riders wear appropriate helmets and well-fitting boots to reduce the risk of injury. The organization also warns riders to roll over to the side if they feel like they’re falling off the horse.