March 16, 2014

USEA Rule Change and RoadID Contest!

Eventers, have you heard the news?  We no longer have to wear medical armbands for the show jumping and cross-county phases of events!  Instead, we are now allowed to wear RoadID-style bracelets:




Haven't heard of RoadID?  They make emergency contact and medical information bracelets for athletes of all kinds.  In the event that you're rendered unconscious, the RoadID can provide first responders with vital information, including your name, the phone number of your emergency contacts, and allergy information.  The "online" version, which is required under the new USEA rules, also gives first responders a link to a webpage where they can access your full medical history.

They also have an app that will allow, for example, your husband to track your solo trail ride's progress so he can call to check on you if he sees you stop moving on the map - how valuable is that for those of us who have to do conditioning or trail rides?  It's way better than calling Nick to say "if you don't hear from me in an hour, something happened."

RoadID Slim - one of the many versions of RoadIDs you can buy.  This is the one I chose.  The bands are interchangable, so you can have a black one for work and one in your XC colors for riding!

The rule change is great news for eventers (personally, my armband is bigger than my tiny arm, doesn't stay up and has always been my least favorite thing about eventing), but after an accident a coworker of mine had last fall, I truly believe equestrians of every discipline should have one.

A serious bicyclist, he was on a lazy social ride with his sister when something happened - no one knows and he doesn't remember - but when she looked back he was lying on the ground unconscious with a serious brain injury - the one time he didn't wear a helmet while biking all year.  Because he didn't have his wallet on him, he was listed as a John Doe for the first part of his two-week ICU and hospital stay, which later caused insurance problems for him.

What if he had a serious allergy to one of the medicines they gave him while he was unconscious and they didn't know about it?  What if he had a history of concussions?  Silva Martin's recent accident proves that the most serious of accidents can occur to equestrians in the most benign of settings, and so every equestrian should have one.

My "offline" RoadID.  I will be getting a second "online" plate to use at events, but since I have no medical history to speak of, I prefer the offline version day-to-day.  The online version only has two customizable lines, and for the rest, you have to go online.

RoadID has graciously offered to sponsor a contest for CobJockey readers!  The grand prize winner will receive a $35 e-coupon to spend at RoadID.com, which should cover the entire cost of the RoadID, and two runners-up will receive my tell-a-friend e-coupons, worth $1 off of a RoadID.com purchase.

To enter:
- Like RoadID on Facebook
- Follow RoadID on Twitter
- Comment on this post with why you would like a RoadID

Contest ends in three days on Wednesday, March 23 at 7pm EDT, so get on it!

* I was not compensated by RoadID.  I purchased my RoadID, liked it enough to want to offer a contest, and then reached out to them.

18 comments:

  1. I liked on Facebook and followed on Twitter :) I think a RoadID is a great idea. My arm is also rather small and my bands always slip down in the past or offer rubs bc they are not secure. So awesome that they are sponsoring a contest! I want it! :)

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  2. How cool! Love the idea of the app- sounds perfect for trail rides! I'd love to win one! Liked on Facebook and following on Twitter.

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  3. How cool! Most of my friends have these for cycling and running.

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  4. This is so awesome! I totally need one of these for the many many solo trail rides/arena rides/condition sets/hikes/runs/etc. I go on--I'm ALWAYS alone and my family worries, haha. Liked on Facebook--I don't have a Twitter so yeah. ;)

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  5. Liked on facebook! This would be so handy for solo trail rides/hikes/biking, and just regular life (I'm quite allergic to a couple of common drugs and foods). I'm getting one even if I don't win!

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  6. I would LOVE a RoadID because last year at our event my medical arm band fell down my arm and you can see me in the video trying to keep it up. They are super uncomfortable because they are either tight and staying on (and making your arm sweat) or loose and falling down!

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  7. I love this. I totally dislike medical armbands. Like most people have said, they are either on too tight so that they stay up, or they fall down part way through your course. How annoying and distracting. I love the Road ID because I would actually wear it outside of competing. Especially with bringing a young horse along in the next couple of years, it would be a good idea. I liked them on facebook but I don't do twitter....

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    1. No problem about the Twitter - they suggested the rules, not me. :-) Facebook is good enough!

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  8. Liked on Facebook. I absolutely LOVE these. I plan on taking lots of trail walks with my young filly this spring/summer and I know that anything can happen, making it important to be wearing something like this. Also love that there's an app so hubby can track me. Very cool, I'd love a RoadID. :)

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  9. These are awesome!! I've heard about them before and thought about ordering but now I really think I need one. I also liked on Facebook but I don't have a Twitter account.

    Thanks for the awesome contest!!

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  10. Liked on FB and Twitter, like many others have stated armbands are designed poorly and rub almost everybody, mine has actually cut me,rubbed blisters and generally a irritant for me. I need one because I will be traveling to shows with and without young horses either catching a ride or driving solo. I'm not going to walk around with a armband on if I don't need it, but with this I would wear it all the time which equals safety all the time!

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  11. The worst is when they slide down your arm in the middle of your ride. That happens to me a lot it just seems like I can never get those suckers tight enough. I liked on facebook and twitter. Great contest idea!

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  12. Liked on facebook and twitter. =-)

    I don't event (yet!) but I should wear something like this when I'm out running. Some of my long runs take me pretty far from my apartment and I have no other form of ID on me at all...

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  13. Very cool! I am fortunate that my saftey vest came with arm pads so my arm band went around that and never caused me a problem. This band though would be so much easier to update and has a lot more uses. Since I ride alone so much it would help. Liked on facebook.

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  14. What a great contest! I have already liked RoadID on Facebook and Twitter (@TheGeorgiaHorse). Whoop whoop! I would love to have one so that I wouldn't have to bug my hubby with random texts during my rides. "Honey, I'm going for a ride now", "Honey, I'm still alive, and the ride is going well", "Honey, I survived the ride and safely back." I know he is so incredibly annoyed yet so patient with my antics :)

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  15. Ohh, cool! I'd love one - I do my hacks on Friday evenings, when everyone else is out clubbing (at least I assume that's what people do on Friday nights?), and I always have a nagging thought that I'm going to end up in a ditch and no one will know who I am and it'll end up being the headline on Fox news for the next month..! So having a way for the hospital to determine who I am would be very nice ;)

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  16. These seem like such a great idea, not just for eventing but also for trail riding. I liked them on facebook, but I don't do twitter!

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  17. Yes! Hope I win :) I need a Road ID because I ride alone a LOT. If I were to be found on the side of the road, I could potentially have someone be able to identify and help me. I sure hope Canada follows suit.

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