An emergency setting on her watch saved a KwaZulu-Natal woman's life after she fell off her horse while out on a ride. Colette Smith had taken her horse, Bonita, out for a ride in Groutville, on the north coast when she fell.
Speaking to IOL, Paul Smith said his wife Colette, an experienced rider, usually rides from the farm to the beach, through the sugar cane fields, often taking different routes.
Smith explained that there are lots of workers in the cane fields, who are chopping sugar cane.
He said one of the workers came out of the field and startled the horse.
"It was not intentional and the horse got a fright and bucked Colette off. They were riding up a hill at the time. She fell backwards and onto the ground," he said.
Smith said Colette, who has been riding for about 40 years, has competed internationally in equestrian events, wears a Garmin smart watch that alerted him to the emergency.
"I am linked as an emergency contact on her watch and an alert was sent to me. She managed to press the button and I was alerted. The watch sent me a pin drop and geographical location of where she was," he said.
"She doesn't ride alone and was with a groom at the time who managed to answer Colette's phone when I called. He told me she had fallen and that she was hurt and she was unconscious," he recalled.
He said Bonita, affectionately known as Bonty, is a Quarter Horse and remained with Colette, instead of running back to the stables.
Smith said he then alerted IPSS Medical Rescue who rushed to the scene.
IPSS spokesperson, Samantha Meyrick, said Colette was stabilised on scene before being transported to hospital under the care of an Advanced Life Support paramedic.
Smith said Colette suffered five broken ribs and cracked ribs. She also has a cracked femur and is in the hospital's intensive care unit.
He said the incident should serve as a reminder to people with smart watches to ensure that they make use of all its features, including emergency features which can alert emergency services and loved ones of emergencies.
Smith praised the IPSS team who managed to calm the family down at the scene and handle the matter so professionally.
Echoing Smith’s sentiment, Meyrick said the link ensured paramedics had Colette’s exact location, which sped up the response time.
"This case is a great example of how much time can be saved when using a device that automatically detects a fall and sends out your location to emergency services,“ Meyrick said.
IOL News