A special occasion brings the equestrian community together

With so many social events in the Wellington, Fla., area during the Winter Equestrian Festival, it takes a lot for one to stand out, especially at the end of an intense 12-week circuit.

Yet Kevin’s Rockstars Lip Sync Fundraiser was a spectacular sellout last weekend, an evening to remember. Despite the zany name, it’s serious business, bringing in impressive amounts of money for the Kevin Babington Foundation.

Although the paralyzed show jumper is the foundation’s namesake, the charity also gives grants to other athletes who, like Kevin, have sustained spinal injuries while show jumping.

Kevin fell with his horse in a grand prix nearly six years ago, and since then, life has been a constant battle, as he has to rely on aides and family members for nearly everything. After being treated last month for a life-threatening case of pneumonia, Kevin got out of the hospital just a few days before the party. His aides and three Intensive Care Unit nurses stood up and rightfully were acknowledged at the festivities.

In typical Kevin fashion, as soon as he was discharged, he was back teaching, passing on his knowledge to help others with their horses.

“That’s what I love,” he explained simply. His daughters Marielle and Gwyneth are also professional equestrians; Marielle works with the family’s horse business in Florida, while her sister rides with Olivier Perreau in France.

Kevin had been worried he wouldn’t be able to attend the Foundation fundraiser, but with his typical resilience, the Irish Olympian was determined to be part of it.

“They would have had to chain me down not to come here tonight,” he told me, as he sat smiling in his wheelchair and ready for what he called “a great craic,” an Irish expression signifying great fun.

The event had started four years ago as a “bit of a lark, a drag night with the Irish guys,” Kevin recalled, and grew from there into quite a production, with familiar faces from the show world transforming themselves into their favorite recording artists or characters from the songs that they lip synched.

The stage presented professional lighting and backdrops, all beneath a large tent on the picturesque Hatfield family farm. The Hatfields also made a $100,000 donation to kick off the evening, and energetic bidding overseen by emcee Jimmy Torano brought more contributions into the till.

Kevin’s energetic wife, Dianna, spoke of the “fantastic community of love” that has wrapped its many arms around the cause.

As Jimmy, also a show jumper, acknowledged what Kevin has gone through, he pointed out, “This could be any of us.”

Dianna mentioned that when she’s working in the VIP tent at WEF and “I hear the calamity of (falling) rails, I just feel this moment of `Oh My God’…and hold my breath for a minute.” Thankfully, there are few accidents as serious as Kevin’s, but she is always aware of what could happen.

The event is the most special night for Kevin, who got a standing ovation when he spoke to the 500-strong crowd.

“I’m blown away every year. Because I’m always worried about, are we going to get enough people here? And it sells out. It’s not just supporting me, it’s supporting what the Foundation stands for,” Kevin said.

“I hope it doesn’t have to have too many other riders, but it’s there for them.”

Dianna said items paid for by the Foundation include round-the-clock aides and a special mattress for Kevin, all necessities that aren’t covered by insurance. It is used for big picture items, not the electric bill or the mortgage.

Kevin recalled the roots of the Foundation, explaining, “A group of friends got together to start a foundation for me and now look what it’s grown into,” with the subsequent involvement of Jeff Papows, its chairman.

“I never in a million years would have expected this,” said Kevin, as he looked around the crowded tent.

“I actually pinch myself all the time.”

Richard Goodall, the Indiana school janitor who won America’s Got Talent last year, kicked off the evening with his rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which could be Kevin’s anthem.

Dianna told the crowd, “ `Don’t Stop Believin’ ’ is completely relevant, as it embodies everything the Foundation is about and everything that keeps each and every one of us that is involved in paralysis able to get up each and every day to carry on with their lives. We cannot stop believing that something will break in the medical community and… restore people’s mobility.”

She and others working with the foundation keep up with the latest medical advances for helping paralysis victims to someday move on their own. Jefff said he has a Google alert on his computer network that searches for anything to do with paralysis.

“One of these days, there’s going to be a breakthrough that will improve his (Kevin’s) quality of life significantly further,” Jeff predicted.

Among those Dianna cited is Onward Medical out of Switzerland. Their Arc-Ex medical device, which received FDA approval in January, is not invasive. Instead, it sends impulses to activate dormant neural pathways. As Dianna pointed out, there have been “huge strides” since actor Christopher Reeve’s accident. An amateur eventer, he was paralyzed after a 1995 cross-country fall and remained in a wheelchair until he died in 2004. He had actively lobbied for spinal injury research.

Dianna, who Kevin called, “My first and foremost advocate through this whole thing,” is nothing if not versatile. As a child, she was “Little Miss New Jersey,” went on to model, act in films during high school and college, and worked as a professional cheerleader for the Nets professional basketball team. Then she pursued her interest in horses, taking lessons with Gary Kunsman at Four Seasons Farm.

For the Lip Sync, she put her show biz background to use with a very professional performance as J Lo while Marielle (wearing a bald wig that took two hours to put on properly), played Pitbull in their convincing rendition of “On the Floor.” They were helped along by back-up “singers,” including show jumpers Schuyler Riley and Lacy Morrone-Cramer. The whole effort took quite a few rehearsals.

In addition to lip sync acts, the evening included real singers, Heather Caristo Williams and Ki-Juan Minors, the first winner of American Equestrians Got Talent.  It was a great opportunity to show off the non-riding abilities of people in the horse show community.

Kevin Rose of Ken Rose catering served a meal that touched all bases with barbequed brisket, mac and cheese and dumplings, as well as crème brulee and cheesecake shooters.

Mike Cruciotti worked with the production aspects of the show. Trainer Missy Clark received an award for encouraging people to put together acts featured during the evening.  Others who received acknowledgement included Carol Coleman and Victoria McCullough, but there was a host of volunteers who helped things run smoothly.

The subject of air vests came up during the evening.

“I was never one to push anything on anybody,” said the guest of honor.

“I’m not sure if a vest would have saved me, there’s a very good chance it would have,” Kevin noted.

“Even if you only wear it for jumping, just think about it. I would have been one of those macho guys that would be the last person to wear the vest, which is completely stupid.”

The research on the effectiveness of the vests is not complete, but Jeff said, “I think it’s something every equestrian has got to consider very seriously.”

Kevin has aides with him around the clock every day of the year. Jeff noted “the Foundation has developed connections with the best and the brightest doctors and hospitals and labs around the world

“That said, he still lives in a very compromised state.”

Jeff added, “The financial cost of these kinds of injuries is catastrophic. It’s not just the injured athlete; it’s the entire family and their entire inner circle that’s affected.” With the aid of the foundation, the patient’s family is “going to be able to see them with a reasonable quality of life without compromising theirs.”

The event raised a record amount,

“It was a significant success and makes up a useful part of our annual operating budget,” said Jeff.

“The tragic part of it aside, I think it has unified the sport and created a closeness that is hard to describe, but it’s almost mystical,” he observed.

” We’ve got a database of 33,000 equestrians, and the open rate on that is 83 percent which is unheard of. I am constantly in awe of the love and generosity and tightness of the show jumping community. Talk about a sport and a community coming together.”