United States Eventing Association

Lexington, KY (December 7th, 2011)—The popular helmet awareness campaign, Riders4Helmets, is on a mission to raise money for 2008 US Olympian Courtney King-Dye’s Medical Fund. Riders4Helmets will operate an eBay store for one week commencing December 12^th, 2011. King-Dye suffered a traumatic brain injury in March 2012 following an accident while riding without a helmet, and is now an avid supporter of the Riders4Helmets campaign, having been vocal in support of helmet wearing since her accident. A moving video of the Olympian opened the 2^nd Riders4Helmets Safety Symposium this past July at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY. The video which is available at www.youtube.com/riders4helmets has received over 40,000 views to date.

While King-Dye does have medical insurance, her out-of-pocket medical expenses since her accident have been substantial. King-Dye requires over 200 sessions of Physical and Occupational Therapy annually and her insurance only cover 60 of these visits, leaving her to find a way to pay for the remainder. While King-Dye is extremely appreciative of the support that she has received to date, she faces a long journey on the road to recovery, and every dollar counts.

“Thank you so much for continuing to support me through all this time. It's been a year and a half since my accident, and I'm looking at years more of necessary therapies” said King-Dye. “I have big goals which I can only achieve with continued therapy, which is only made possible through the incredible support of people like you. I can't thank you enough, and I try to give what I can back to the community that gives so much to me. Thank you.”

Riders4Helmets is currently accepting donations of items for the eBay store. Any individual or company interested in donating an item should email [email protected]. Items have already been generously donated by SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program, Autographed posters by HorseSportsPhotography.com, Purina Horse Feed, a GPA helmet certificate and Riders4Helmets logo wear items. Selected items of pottery by King-Dye will also be up for grabs. To make a purchase from the eBay store the week of December 12^th, please visit http://stores.ebay.com/CourtneyKingDyeMedicalFund.

The goal of the Riders4Helmets Campaign is to educate equestrians on the benefits of wearing a properly fitted and secured, certified helmet. For further information please visit www.riders4helmets.com. You can also follow the campaign at www.facebook.com/riders4helmets and http://twitter.com/riders4helmets.