Riders4Helmets, the helmet awareness campaign founded by Jeri Bryant and equine health product SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program, will host a "by invitation only" Helmet Safety Symposium Jan. 8, at the White Horse Tavern in Wellington, Fla., from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The symposium is sponsored by Troxel Helmets, Charles Owen Helmets, Tipperary Helmets, and Samshield Helmets.

Riders4Helmets was founded in early 2010 after Olympic dressage rider Courtney King Dye was seriously injured in a riding accident. King Dye, who remained in a coma for a month following her accident, was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

The Helmet Safety Symposium was organized to bring together representatives from various corners of the equestrian world to discuss the importance of wearing helmets to rider safety and to improve helmet designs, rules, and more. The event will provide a series of panel discussions throughout the day that feature speakers including leading equestrians, representatives from the helmet safety testing authorities, helmet manufacturers, neurosurgeons, and representatives from equestrian organizations including the United States Equestrian Federation and the Fédération Équestre Internationale. The chair of the meeting will be Craig Ferrell, MD, physician for the United States Equestrian Team.

"We are very excited to be part of the Riders4Helmets campaign and to see it continue to expand," said Lyndsey White, representative from Freedom Health, LLC, makers of SUCCEED, and co-manager of the Riders4Helmets campaign. "Since Courtney King Dye's tragic accident earlier this year, awareness of the importance of helmet safety has grown to the point where we can now bring together different individuals, corporations, and organizations all in one place to discuss the issues and, hopefully, begin to change things for the better