[InvisiBill]

You're getting some exaggerated answers about the A* riding shoes. They do have some plastic armor in them and use "abrasion-resistant" material. I'm sure they're better than a pair of regular shoes.

The question comes down to how much better they are. They have a lot of compromises compared to dedicated boots, as others have pointed out. Depending the details of an accident, they may completely protect your foot/ankle from any injury. It's possible that the girl in the video may have had the exact same results while wearing these. Without parallel universes or tons of very precise experimenting, it's all what-if's and speculation.

Only you can decide what tradeoffs you're willing to accept in your own gear. Many here will point out that a little extra cost or inconvenience may greatly improve your chance of avoiding injury, and they think that's a very good value. Some people figure they'll either never be in an accident or won't survive anyway and choose to wear no gear whatsoever. You have to determine what levels of risk are acceptable to you personally.