5-year-old girl trampled to death at rodeo

[Dracos]

TUCSON, Arizona (AP) -- Rodeo parade spectators watched in horror Thursday as a 5-year-old girl was thrown off her mount and trampled by an out-of-control team of horses pulling a wagon. She later died.

The girl, identified by police as Brielle Boisvert, was three years younger than the age minimum stated in the parade's online entry form.

Authorities said they would determine whether criminal charges were warranted.

Hundreds of people were within eyesight of the tragedy along the two-mile route of the Tucson Rodeo Parade.

"People were gasping, screaming," said Diane Hebert, who was near the scene of the accident.

"I saw the wagon coming around the corner out of control," said Hebert's husband, Henry. "They hit the horse, her horse flared up and the girl fell off."

Hebert said it appeared that two other girls riding beside the 5-year-old saw the horses coming at them and were able to get out of the way. Witnesses differed on whether the wagon ran over Brielle.

Full Story:http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/22/rodeo.death.ap/index.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Who allowed the girl in the parade?

Was her age on the form? Or did the parents lie about her age? The person driving the wagon has to feel terrible!

[Divernan]

2. Last year the mayor's wife got a concussion from runaway horses in parade.

More from article:
"The girl died at University Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Darci Slaton said. Parade spokesman Bob Johnson acknowledged that Brielle was younger than the age limit but said no one monitors the parade to confirm ages.

Police Chief Richard Miranda said investigators were interviewing witnesses and others, including the driver of the wagon. The death was the first in the parade's 85-year history, although injuries at the event are not uncommon, Johnson said. At last year's parade, Mayor Bob Walkup bruised an arm and his wife, Beth, suffered a concussion and whiplash when two runaway horses slammed into the rear of a 150-year-old buggy.

The event, billed as the world's longest nonmechanized parade, includes horses, marching bands, folk dancers and beauty queens. It is one of the highlights of the 82nd annual La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo, a weeklong event that began Monday featuring more than 700 contestants from across the U.S. and Canada."
(END OF QUOTES)

I believe even an 8 year old minimum is far too young. Horses are large, powerful ANIMALS, who can be spooked into bolting by a loud noise(drums of the marching bands), or some jerk in the crowd throwing something at them. Even if the little girl had not fallen off her horse, she would not have had the psychological maturity or the brute strength necessary to control the horse with her reins. Everyone there is lucky that those horses and wagon did not swerve into the crowd. It was a tragic accident, and her parents may never forgive themselves for putting her in the parade.
A 5 year old belongs on a small pony, in a small ring, with a supervising adult and most importantly, wearing a reinforced protective riding helmet. This little girl was doubtless wearing a cute costume with either no headgear or some soft cowboy hat.

I am a scuba diver, and I have seen the diving industry lower the age at which they will train kids (as young as 8), driven purely by greed of people selling the classes. As a child psychiatrist has pointed out, there is a nation out there of small people and they are NOT like us! Children do not act, think, emote, respond or play as adults. We do not think of caterpillars as small butterflies. Why should we think of children as merely small adults? Yes, I know that caterpillars are different from children. Kids are higher up in the food chain and thus take far, far longer to develop. The appropriate adult response to life threatening situations is not to burst into tears.
But that is all we can reasonably expect from a child.

The concept of the physically, mentally and psychologically mature kid is, at best, an oxymoron and at worst, nothing more than economic predation from an industry whose quality of education has been strangled by greed-driven mediocrity. I think this is something all parents should keep in mind when choosing athletic activities for their kids.

For anyone who is interested, here's but ONE physiological example of why children should not scuba dive.

The inability of children to equalize pressure in the middle ears while flying as passengers in commercial aircraft is a significant problem. As a result, there are numerous studies of this inability of children to clear. Basically, the overwhelming majority of kids under age 12 cannot equalize pressure in the middle ear, especially when the pressure in the middle ear is "negative" (middle ear pressure is less than the ambient pressure in the outer ear). Since the pressure changes involved in scuba diving are greater than those seen in commercial aircraft flights (an adult can rupture an ear drum in approximately eight feet of water), it seems reasonable to believe this inability to "clear" would be a problem in diving. Basically, in children, the Eustachian tube is small, flat, and horizontal (compared to an adult's). This orientation makes it difficult for the ear to drain and, as a result, ear infections are more common in kids than adults. This condition, in very small kids, has been termed "glue ears"; In addition, the Eustachian tube closes when a child swallows, as compared to opening with an adult. Under so-called "negative pressure," the tube closes and then air movement becomes impossible. This is analogous to trying to do rescue breathing when the tongue has closed the airway. During development (up to about age 20), the Eustachian tube in-folds and forms ridges that prevent the total collapse under "negative" pressure in the middle ear. Thus, while "clearing" may be an easy task for an adult scuba student, it poses a significant problem and major obstacle in training kids because pressure equalization techniques normally utilized in scuba training will not work with a dysfunctional Eustachian tube.

This inability to clear, coupled with children's concrete thinking will lead kids to try stronger and stronger Valsalva in order to remove the ear pain.

The combination of Eustachian tube anatomy, equalization difficulty, poor instruction and forceful Valsalva SUGGESTS that kids are at greater risk (compared to adults) for middle ear barotraumas.

[Totallybushed]

3. What a tragedy!!

Someone should definitely go to jail for this.