It does make you wonder if there should be a minimum age limit on participating in dangerous sports.
No. I started riding at in 1992, and was jumping only a couple of years later. After Christopher Reeves' accident in 1995, both my parents asked me, independently, what I thought about his accident, and whether I understood that what I was doing could hurt me just as badly. They wanted to know whether I wanted to keep riding, even understanding that I could be paralyzed or killed.
I gave the same answer I'd give if it had happened today: I love what I do too much to let fear make me give it up.
I'd give you the same answer about karting and other motorsports.
The idea that society at large - who are, for the most part, ignorant - can dictate what level of risk is acceptable for someone else in a voluntary activity is ridiculous.
I'm not stupid, I don't have a death wish, I do use proper safety equipment and best practices, and strongly advocate that others do the same. To me, the rewards are worth the risk. My understanding of risk as a child, was in many ways, actually better than it is as an adult. The bad thing about learning the statistics is that it's easier to rationalize a risk if you think "oh, it's only a ten percent chance" as opposed to "if I fall off, I
will get hurt".
And in case anyone thinks equestrian activities are safe: Over 100 deaths per year are estimated to result from
equestrian related activities in the US. Sadly, I couldn't find stats that included only non-youth equestrian accidents, or stats for motorsports that did include youth accidents, so I can't give you a direct apples to apples comparison. However, a stat I did find is that in the US there are on average
22 deaths per year, in all levels of motorsport with the exception of youth karting, motorbikes, monster trucks, mud racing, and racing schools.
