by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 24, 2022
For generations, New Jerseyans who aspired to be veterinarians had to study out of state, most often at the University of Pennsylvania or Cornell. But beginning in 2025, they can get started on their degree in the state where they live.
Rowan University has announced is establishing the first school of veterinary medicine in New Jersey in response to what it termed the national demand for vets, specialists and technicians. It will be the country’s 34th veterinary school, and one of only six on the East Coast.
The state Legislature approved $75 million in funding to construct the school’s primary academic and clinical facility in Sewell, South Jersey. Pending approval from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education, the inaugural class of 60 students start going to class in the fall of 2025.
“Launching New Jersey’s first school of veterinary medicine at Rowan University is just the latest in a series of strides we have made in expanding and improving the quality of medical education and research over the past decade,” former state Senate President Steve Sweeney said before leaving office after losing his re-election bid.
“With this investment, we will be able to keep our best and brightest veterinary students in New Jersey, and we will attract aspiring veterinarians from other states to study here as well.”
Rowan will establish undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and internship/residency programs at the veterinary school. Additionally, an A.S. in veterinary technology to B.S. in veterinary technology pathway program will be offered in collaboration with Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester. Graduate programs, including an M.S./Ph.D. in veterinary biomedical science in collaboration with Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan Universities and the College of Science & Mathematics;
An accelerated DVM/MBA in collaboration with Rowan University’s Rohrer College of Business, designed to improve training of students in veterinary practice management, business and economics beyond what will be offered as core content within the DVM curriculum.
Undergraduate programs will include bachelor’s degrees in veterinary studies and veterinary technology, as well as certificates and training pathways for veterinary technicians and assistants;
Internship and residency programs will provide postgraduate educational opportunities for those who already have completed their DVM degree. The programs could lead to specialization, including specialist board certifications.
The School of Veterinary Medicine’s primary academic and clinical facility will be located on the campus of Rowan College of South Jersey in Sewell, near the new Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine facility
Designs for a 100,000-square-foot veterinary medical complex are under way and will include academic classrooms, diagnostic and teaching laboratories, a teaching hospital, and administrative and faculty offices. The teaching hospital will provide core experiential learning to students. It also will offer animal health care services to the public, as well as specialty referral and diagnostic services to veterinary practices in the region.
The founding dean, Dr. Matthew Edson, is a 2007 graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in animal science and biology.
Rutgers’ “Department of Animal Science reached out to him and offered anything they needed relating to horses,” according to Karyn Malinowski, founder of the Rutgers Equine Science Center.
She did note that 10 years ago, a meeting at Rutgers came up with the decision that a New Jersey veterinary school was not needed in New Brunswick. But now that the Rowan project is getting started, “We certainly can complement each other,” said Karyn, citing the treadmill lab among other Rutgers facilities the South Jersey school can access.
“We’ve got tons of resources that they can share. They can count us on any capacity,” Karyn continued.
The Rowan dean has been in practice for more than a decade as founder and owner of Rancocas Veterinary Associates, a multi-doctor, mixed-animal practice in South Jersey. He has special professional interests in miniature pig and small ruminant medicine and surgery and has lectured nationally on those subjects.
A native of Eastampton Township, he is an executive board member and the immediate past president of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, a site visitor for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education, former chair of the AVMA Committee on Disaster and Emergency Issues, and former vice chair of the AVMA Practice Advisory Pilot Panel. He also has served as a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine.
Licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, he earned his veterinary medical degree from Kansas State University.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 28, 2022
For one person, covering everything that’s happening in Wellington on a show week is impossible, even though the distance between the dressage and hunter/jumper showgrounds is relatively short. But with nearly 20 rings going, it can be tough to keep track.
While I was watching dressage last week in the stadium at the Equestrian Village, a hunter derby was happening on the grass–all day. The announcing from two different positions offered an interesting juxtaposition of scores. And it was kind of fun to watch a piaffe and then swivel over to see a horse jumping on the grass.
The shows at the Winter Equestrian Festival and Adequan Global Dressage Festival were both 5-stars in dressage and jumping, but there was plenty to report that wasn’t one of the big classes. There are interesting stories everywhere. Here are a couple.
Alice Tarjan continued her winning streak yesterday as the Adequan Global Dressage Festival wrapped up its seventh week with a victory in the qualifier for the Lövsta Future Challenge/Young Horse Grand Prix aboard the elegant Jane, a daughter of Desperado NOP, who lost her tense expression once she focused on the test in the stadium at Equestrian Village.
“It took a little while to bring her along. She didn’t really show until I did two I-2’s (Intermediate II) with her this year,” said Alice, reporting on the mare’s background after earning a score of 71 to top a three-horse field. Earlier in the week, she won the national FEI Grand Prix on Donatella M. (See that story by clicking this link .)
Discussing the”lightly campaigned Jane,” she said, “the plan was to get some miles on her, because she’s obviously really spooky, and she’s never been anywhere. So I’m thrilled. I’m really happy.”
Jane may be inexperienced, but she has a commanding presence that can’t be ignored. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Alice, who is based in Oldwick, N.J., and Loxahatchee, Fla., trains with Marcus Orlob of Annandale, N.J., and former U.S. technical advisor Debbie McDonald.
Alice pointed out about Jane, “You saw she went around (in) the beginning, she was really spooky and impressed. But once she goes to work, man, the horse goes to work, and she’s so honest. It’s so nice to ride a horse like that that’s just easy and straightforward.”
Evaluating Jane’s performance, Alice said, “the horse basically knows all the tricks.” She conceded the one-tempi lead changes are still a bit green.
“The issue is trying to keep the self-carriage and the softness and the harmony throughout the test. I lose it for sure, but I’m happy because I can get it back. The two’s (two tempis) she was really honest in. And the piaffe- passage; that horse is just so honest. She’ll just do it all day long and never thinks twice about it.” commented Alice.
“It’s easy for her, she’s happy to do it. It’s nice to ride something that’s really straight forward,” added Alice, who brings up all her mounts from the young horse stage to Grand Prix.
She isn’t sure what comes next for Jane, since she wasn’t expecting to win.
“The goal this year was to try to qualify for Lövsta (finals), so I didn’t think it was going to happen so fast.”
“I think it’s fantastic for the horses to come and be able to get the experience in the stadium. And then especially to have that quality of judges and know that those scores actually count and that they mean something.”
Lövsta Future Challenge joined Brooke USA’s Paint Wellington Orange, an initiative created to build awareness and raise funds for the plight of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people who depend on them for survival worldwide. For each entry throughout the season, in jumping as well in dressage, Lövsta Future Challenge will donate $100 to Brooke USA.
The partnership with Lövsta Future Challenge provides Brooke USA with a platform to expand awareness of the donkey hide trade which is jeopardizing donkey populations all over the world. Half the world’s donkeys could be wiped out in the next five years, as millions are slaughtered to meet the rising demand for “ejiao,” a gelatin-like product used in traditional Chinese medicine and derived from boiling the hides of donkeys. Believed to improve blood circulation and treat conditions such as anemia, infertility, and impotence, ejiao is found in powders, tonics cosmetics and even food products.
Carrie Schopf was victorious Saturday in the 3-star Grand Prix Special, enjoying it in a big way. After knowing her ride on Saumur merited 70.979 percent, she did a little dance (arms only, of course, since was riding) as she went around the ring and exited the arena.
Carrie does her victory dance in the saddle. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
A native of California who lives in Germany most of the year, Carrie qualified at the show to represent Armenia in the world championships this summer.
She chose Armenian citizenship because that is her family’s heritage, and she has visited the country a number of times. Carrie has owned Saumur, a 14-year-old flashy white-stockinged Oldenburg, for seven years.
She showed off some exciting extensions in a performance that played to Saumur’s strengths.
“This is a very forward test in the trot work especially,” she pointed out. That means, “if you swing with them, you can really capture that energy. You can really let them sail, so I just stepped on the gas pedal and went.”
A half-mile down the road at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, Germany’s Daniel Deusser continued his own winning streak in Sunday’s $75,000 Captive One Advisors 1.50-meter Championship Classic competition that drew 54 starters, with 15 making it through to the jump-off.
Daniel produced a good effort in the tie-breaker with the famous Killer Queen VDM, but it would only be good enough for fifth place. Still, it enabled him to reconnoiter the shortened course and produce the fastest time on another mare, Kiana Van Het Herdershof. She was clocked in 33.36 seconds, more than a second better than another Stephex rider, Petronella Andersson with Halita O in 34.87 seconds.
Daniel Deusser on his winning trip in the 1.50 meter Classic. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Daniel, as charming as he is athletic, explained the mare is “naturally very fast. Mostly she wants to do it quicker than other ones and that definitely was my advantage in the jump-off.” Kiana earned herself some time off as Killer Queen goes in the grand prix next week. Although she has done some 1.60 meter grands prix, “It is much easier for her to win these kind of classes,” Daniel said.
“You need to have a proper grand prix horse, but you also need to have the second horses that are faster. The sport has changed in the last couple of years and gotten so much faster in general.”
In two weeks, he will go to the Dutch Masters and a show in Paris the week after, before coming back for the last two weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival.
A nice victory gallop in the sunshine for Daniel Deusser. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
“These will be the first two indoor shows in Europe after a long break that are open again and allowed to organize,” he said, talking about the effect that Covid restrictions had on the sport abroad.
The former world number one was hoping to qualify for the World Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany, but couldn’t find a way to get to the first Cup finals in three years.
“The last six qualifications I wanted to do were all cancelled in Europe,” he explained. They were casualties of Covid, just as was the case last year, when he came to Florida for the first time in three or four years as an alternative and loved it.
“The weather and circumstances here are very, very nice,” he told me then.
“It is a better feeling to come here in our winter and compete in the sun and outside. In the warm conditions, the horses move a little better than in cold conditions.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 25, 2022
Another horse has been euthanized in the wave of EHV-1 cases that has cancelled shows and led to requirements for handling horses to avoid contagion. He was the third to be put down in connection with the outbreak.
The horse was a 20-year-old warmblood gelding in Los Angeles County, where he had attended a show last week He displayed neurological signs Feb. 22 was confirmed positive for Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) secondary to equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1 non-neuropathogenic strain) Feb. 24. The horse was euthanized due to severity of clinical signs, according to the Equine Disease Communicatoin Center.
Three horses that had attended an event in Riverside County, Calif., and then returned home ran a fever with no neurologic signs but were confirmed positive for EHV-1. The horses in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Mateo counties have been isolated and will be quarantined at home, along with any exposed companions. Three additional horses on the index event premise, outside of the index quarantine barn, displaying fever only with no neurologic signs were confirmed positive for EHV-1
Meanwhile on the east coast, Equestrian Sport Productions that runs the Adequan Global Dressage Festival and Winter Equestrian Festival on Feb. 23 instituted strict new protocols for anyone shipping horses into the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and any new back numbers processed will be required to sign a declaration stating that the horses entering the facility are healthy and have not been in a California competition after Jan. 28.
There are also new testing and isolation criteria for horses coming from California, where a new show planned for this month at LAEC was cancelled because of the EHV-1 situation. Due to the EHV-1 situation at Desert International Horse Park and West Palms Events’ commitment to equine health, it was decided to conclude the LA February show and not add an extra show to the calendar.
The Desert Horse Park sent 11 tests to the California Department of Food and Agriculture lab earlier this week. Three additional horses tested positive for EHV-1 yesterday. One of the three was being tested for the first time after a recently detected fever. The other two positive EHV-1 cases were for horses that had previously tested negative.
Two horses tested negative as a follow up to their initial negative test. These horses will be carefully watched but no further testing is planned. Six previously reported positive cases were re-tested. One of these tested negative and will be scheduled for a follow up test in seven days. All three of the first cases on the property have now tested negative. The park has sought five additional tests for horses with initial fevers.
Three horses attending the LAEC show had been at Desert International Horse Park, returned to their home barn, and then came to LAEC after five days of isolation instead of seven. A statement from West Palms Event noted they also were made aware of a fourth horse who attended its Los Angeles show that had been at Desert International Horse Park inside the 7-day minimum quarantine.
Desert International Horse Park had cancelled its show scheduled for this week and closed access to new arrivals for at least the next week. Instead of running the show under a reduced format as planned, there is now a schedule for each barn/trainer group to school horses in dedicated rings to avoid any exposure to horses outside of their barn/trainer group.The park also has developed rules for the next few days and an updated set of protocols.
An outbreak of EHV-1 in Europe last year led to a massive cancellation of shows.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 23, 2022
As EHV-1 continues to spread in California, a second horse has been euthanized as a result of the EHV-1 outbreak in California.
This animal at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center exhibited no symptoms until late afternoon on Feb. 22, when it became neurological, and experienced such severe symptoms that it was euthanized. Lab results will take a couple of days before there can be conclusive answers on what happened.
Three horses that had attended an event in Riverside County, Calif., and then returned home ran a fever with no neurologic signs but were confirmed positive for EHV-1. The horses in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Mateo counties have been isolated and will be quarantined at home, along with any exposed companions. Three additional horses on the index event premise, outside of the index quarantine barn, displaying fever only with no neurologic signs were confirmed positive for EHV-1
Meanwhile on the east coast, Equestrian Sport Productions that runs the Adequan Global Dressage Festival and Winter Equestrian Festival on Feb. 23 instituted strict new protocols for anyone shipping horses into the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and any new back numbers processed will be required to sign a declaration stating that the horses entering the facility are healthy and have not been in a California competition after Jan. 28.
There are also new testing and isolation criteria for horses coming from California, where a new show planned for this month at LAEC was cancelled because of the EHV-1 situation. Due to the EHV-1 situation at Desert International Horse Park and West Palms Events’ commitment to equine health, it was decided to conclude the LA February show and not add an extra show to the calendar.
The Desert Horse Park sent 11 tests to the California Department of Food and Agriculture lab earlier this week. Three additional horses tested positive for EHV-1 yesterday. One of the three was being tested for the first time after a recently detected fever. The other two positive EHV-1 cases were for horses that had previously tested negative.
Two horses tested negative as a follow up to their initial negative test. These horses will be carefully watched but no further testing is planned. Six previously reported positive cases were re-tested. One of these tested negative and will be scheduled for a follow up test in seven days. All three of the first cases on the property have now tested negative. The park has sought five additional tests for horses with initial fevers.
Three horses attending the LAEC show had been at Desert International Horse Park, returned to their home barn, and then came to LAEC after five days of isolation instead of seven. A statement from West Palms Event noted they also were made aware of a fourth horse who attended its Los Angeles show that had been at Desert International Horse Park inside the 7-day minimum quarantine.
Desert International Horse Park had cancelled its show scheduled for this week and closed access to new arrivals for at least the next week. Instead of running the show under a reduced format as planned, there is now a schedule for each barn/trainer group to school horses in dedicated rings to avoid any exposure to horses outside of their barn/trainer group.The park also has developed rules for the next few days and an updated set of protocols.
An outbreak of EHV-1 in Europe last year led to a massive cancellation of shows.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 11, 2022
Professional show jumper Cassandra Kahle today was flown to a rehabilitation facility in Atlanta from Gainesville, Fla., where she has been hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury for nearly two weeks.
“The move and flight went very smoothly. They had a team of doctors immediately assess.her. She seems to be settling in well,” said Emil Spadone, the owner of Redfield Farm in Ocala, Fla., and Califon, N.J., where Cassie works.
Cassie, 29, has been able to open her eyes and follow commands, but at the Shepherd Center, the emphasis will be on getting her fully awake before she starts on the next stage of rehab. which will involve physical therapy, possibly lasting for four to six weeks.
Cassie Kahle.
When the Redfields crew returns to New Jersey after the Florida shows end, she can go to the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange on either an inpatient or outpatient basis. Kessler is where 2008 dressage Olympian Courtney King Dye did her rehab in 2010 after a serious head injury after her fall from a young horse.
Thousands of people have been following the progress of Cassie, a Canadian citizen who is very popular on the circuit.
“She’s a role model to me. As a person, as a rider, in every facet of life, she really executes it to perfection,” said close friend and fellow competitor Brian Feigus, who shares her love for all things Disney.
He admires her dedication and determination.
“If anybody is going to make a full recovery out of this, she’s the one. She’s a fighter and she’s strong,” he observed.
“There’s not one person in this industry who won’t stand behind her and support her. What everyone has seen is how many people she has touched and how many people care abut her. It’s because of who she is as a person. It’s nice to see that everyone recognizes how incredibly special she is.”
A GoFundMe page to cover medical and rehab expenses for Cassie has been started by Liz Schindler McFadden. Click here to donate.
Emil hopes his insurance and workman’s compensation can pay for much of Cassie’s costs, though these situations are always tremendously expensive and not everything needed can be anticipated at this point.
If money is left over, it will be donated elsewhere when Cassie can help make the decision of where it should go, but Emil needs to find out the rules of how that’s handled with GoFundMe.
For those who don’t know what happened, Cassie and her mount, Heviola, fell in the 1.40-meter Classic at the HITS show in Ocala Jan. 29.The 10-year-old Dutchbred mare was unhurt, but Cassie suffered the TBI in her fall.
Cassie is an accomplished rider who won the $100,000 Grand Prix de Penn National last year and the World Champion Hunter Rider Pro Challenge at the Capital Challenge Horse Show in 2019.
She was going fast in the jump-off at HITS when two distances to the next jump appeared. One was an inside turn, the other was a longer distance.
“I was watching and saw both distances,” said Emil.
“I saw the flyer; she was trying to fit in the shorter one, the horse was trying to pick up on the longer one and left early.”
The horse fell and her rider “got catapulted off the side.”
She hit her head just above her temple and left eye and back to the side; that’s where the contusions are on the scan, according to Emil, adding her only other injury is a big bruise on her side.
Emil noted that like every other rider, Cassie has fallen more than once.
“She always gets up and dusts off her pants and says `Let’s try again.’ She’s tough.”
But this time, it didn’t happen that way.
“It was really a miscommunication. It wasn’t Heviola’s fault and it wasn’t Cassie’s fault,” said Emil.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 14, 2022
Interested in finding out what’s new in equine nutrition and health? There’s a free seminar being offered through Rutgers on Feb. 22 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. rotational grazing, metabolism and microbiome also will be covered by Dr. Jennifer Weinert-Nelson, formerly of Rutgers, who is doing a post-doctoral program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service in Lexington, Ky.
Also offered is something that’s really up to the moment, “New findings on CBD/Hemp in Horse Nutrition” will be offered by Anna Collins from Murray State University in Kentucky.
To register, go to this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 9, 2022
After several days without much progress, Cassandra Kahle thrilled everyone at her hospital bedside about 9:30 yesterday morning when she opened her eyes. And today, it got even better.
“Her eyes were open for several minutes at a time,” reported Emil Spadone, who owns Redfield Farm in Ocala, Fla., and Califon, N.J., where Cassie is a professional rider.
The 29-year-old show jumper, who suffered a traumatic injury when her horse fell during a jump-off last month, was “understanding what we’re saying, seeming more comfortable with her additional clarity, Emil said.
A trip to Atlanta’s Shepherd Center that specializes in rehabilitation for brain injuries has been put off until Friday as insurance issues are dealt with.
On Tuesday, the physical therapy crew at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla., sat her up and started giving commands. After she opened her eyes, they said, “Can you open your mouth?” She opened her mouth.
“Can you stick your tongue out?” they suggested, and she did. Next, they gave her a washcloth and asked her to wipe her mouth, then give the cloth to her father. She was able to follow the orders.
As Emil noted Tuesday, “The doctors are like, `That is really impressive.’ They’re super, super thrilled.
“The doctors feel this was the first day she was starting to get conscious. She’s doing amazing. and the doctors are so impressed with her, but she’s not totally awake,” Emil cautioned.
“They call her semi-conscious. It takes a little time, but what a great day today. It was an amazing day. We always had the faith, but it just kind of renews it when you have a day like today.”
Emil recalled that she gave a thumbs-up and a peace sign to him and her father last week, but then she didn’t do it again, which was disheartening.
“It was so up and down for a little bit there,” Emil conceded, while citing the “amazing nurses and doctors” at Shand for all they’ve done. But it hasn’t been easy for those around Cassie.
“I do think positive, but it’s taken its toll.”
Emil said the Shepherd Center, where Cassie will begin the rehabilitation process, has “helped a lot of horse people. Everybody said it’s the place to go. She’ll start with a Disorders of Consciousness program to get her fully awake.”
Next, “they start the physical therapy part for another four to six weeks. After that, she can have more (therapy) or be an outpatient.”
Emil noted when the people at Shepherd were told how well Cassie did, they said “`It looks like she’s already beginning to wake up.’ If she winds up fully waking up in a week, they’ll immediately graduate her to the next step. As soon as she’s ready, she moves to the therapy part.”
When it’s time for her next move, after the end of the winter show circuit, “We’ll be heading for New Jersey,” said Emil, thinking she can go to the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation in West Orange as either an inpatient or outpatient.
Meanwhile, Shepherd has strict Covid rules, only allowing one person to be in a patient’s room each week. At the moment, the thought is that Cassie’s mother, Natasha Brash, will alternate with Emil. At Shand, Natasha stayed with her daughter through the night, while Emil had the day shift and would leave at 10 p.m.
As always when there’s a crisis, the horse show community pitches in.
A GoFundMe page to cover medical and rehab expenses for Cassie has been started by Liz Schindler McFadden. Click here to donate.
Emil anticipates GoFundMe could cover the $15,000 needed for the plane to get Cassie to Atlanta. But he hopes his insurance and workman’s compensation can pay for much of Cassie’s costs, though these situations are always tremendously expensive and not everything needed can be anticipated at this point.
If money is left over, it will be donated elsewhere when Cassie can help make the decision of where it should go, but Emil needs to find out the rules of how that’s handled with GoFundMe.
Danielle Torano organized an effort to send food to Cassie’s nurses at Shand as a thank you for her care. We will let you know if the program will continue at Shepherd.
Cassie in action. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
In case you’re not up to speed on what’s happening here, this is the backstory on Cassie, culled from previous reports:
Last Thursday night, she “cracked her eyes open and stared right at me,” said Emil.
“Then she followed the command of the thumbs up and two fingers.” That was something she was able to do earlier in the week, even though she hadn’t opened her eyes at that point.
“It was an emotional moment,” Emil noted.
“That was the up. The down is she hasn’t done it again since.”
He had mentioned earlier on Thursday that because she had aspiration pneumonia from her breathing tube, her infection was likely to slow down her response time. However, he reported, her cough is almost completely gone.
Shands Hospital quickly addressed the change in Cassie’s situation with antibiotics when she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Being young and strong are factors in Cassie’s favor. It’s tough to take the situation in stride, especially after how well she reacted on Wednesday, but doctors advise patience.
Cassie is as talented on a hunter as she is on a jumper. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
For those who don’t know what happened, Cassie and her mount, Heviola, fell in the 1.40-meter Classic at the HITS show in Ocala.The 10-year-old Dutchbred mare was unhurt, but Cassie suffered the TBI in her fall.
Cassie is an accomplished rider who won the $100,000 Grand Prix de Penn National last year and the World Champion Hunter Rider Pro Challenge at the Capital Challenge Horse Show in 2019.
She was going fast in the jump-off at HITS when two distances to the next jump appeared. One was an inside turn, the other was a longer distance.
“I was watching and saw both distances,” said Emil.
“I saw the flyer; she was trying to fit in the shorter one, the horse was trying to pick up on the longer one and left early.”
The horse fell and her rider “got catapulted off the side.”
She hit her head just above her temple and left eye and back to the side; that’s where the contusions are on the scan, according to Emil, adding her only other injury is a big bruise on her side.
Emil noted that like every other rider, Cassie has fallen more than once.
“She always gets up and dusts off her pants and says `Let’s try again.’ She’s tough.”
But this time, it didn’t happen that way.
“It was really a miscommunication. It wasn’t Heviola’s fault and it wasn’t Cassie’s fault,” said Emil.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 8, 2022
After several days without much progress, Cassandra Kahle thrilled everyone at her hospital bedside about 9:30 this morning when she opened her eyes.
And that’s not all she did. The 29-year-old professional rider, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall during a jump-off last month, went on to demonstrate that she is on the road back to consciousness.
The physical therapy crew at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla., sat her up and started giving commands. After she opened her eyes, they said, “Can you open your mouth?” She opened her mouth.
“Can you stick your tongue out?” they suggested, and she did. Next, they gave her a washcloth and asked her to wipe her mouth, then give the cloth to her father. She was able to follow the orders.
“The doctors are like, `That is really impressive.’ They’re super, super thrilled,” said Emil Spadone who owns Redfield Farm in Ocala, Fla, and Califon, N.J., where Cassie works.
“The doctors feel this was the first day she was starting to get conscious. She’s doing amazing. and the doctors are so impressed with her, but she’s not totally awake,” Emil cautioned.
“They call her semi-conscious. It takes a little time, but what a great day today. It was an amazing day. We always had the faith, but it just kind of renews it when you have a day like today.”
Emil recalled that she gave a thumbs-up and a peace sign to him and her father last week, but then she didn’t do it again, which was disheartening.
“It was so up and down for a little bit there,” Emil conceded, while citing the “amazing nurses and doctors” at Shand for all they’ve done. But it hasn’t been easy for those around Cassie.
“I do think positive, but it’s taken its toll.”
On Thursday, Cassie, her family and Emil will fly to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where she will begin the rehabilitation prcess.
“They’ve helped a lot of horse people. Everybody said it’s the place to go. She’ll start with a Disorders of Consciousness program to get her fully awake,” Emil related.
Next, “they start the physical therapy part for another four to six weeks. After that, she can have more (therapy) or be an outpatient.”
Emil noted when the people at Shepherd were told how well Cassie did today, they said “`It looks like she’s already beginning to wake up.’ If she winds up fully waking up in a week, they’ll immediately graduate her to the next step. As soon as she’s ready, she moves to the therapy part.”
When it’s time for her next move, after the end of the winter show circuit, “We’ll be heading for New Jersey,” said Emil, thinking she can go to the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation in West Orange as either an inpatient or outpatient.
Meanwhile, Shepherd has strict Covid rules, only allowing one person to be in a patient’s room each week. At the moment, the thought is that Cassie’s mother, Natasha Brash, will alternate with Emil. At Shand, Natasha stayed with her daughter through the night, while Emil had the day shift and would leave at 10 p.m.
As always when there’s a crisis, the horse show community pitches in.
A GoFundMe page to cover medical and rehab expenses for Cassie has been started by Liz Schindler McFadden. Click here to donate.
Emil anticipates GoFundMe could cover the $15,000 needed for the plane to get Cassie to Atlanta. But he hopes his insurance and workman’s compensation can pay for much of Cassie’s costs, though these situations are always tremendously expensive and not everything needed can be anticipated at this point.
If money is left over, it will be donated elsewhere when Cassie can help make the decision of where it should go, but Emil needs to find out the rules of how that’s handled with GoFundMe.
Danielle Torano organized an effort to send food to Cassie’s nurses as a thank you for her care.Those who want to contribute can click on this link. However, do not send food to Shand after tomorrow (Wednesday Feb. 8). We will let you know if the program will continue at Shepherd.
Cassie in action. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
In case you’re not up to speed on what’s happening here, this is the backstory on Cassie, culled from previous reports:
Last Thursday night, she “cracked her eyes open and stared right at me,” said Emil.
“Then she followed the command of the thumbs up and two fingers.” That was something she was able to do earlier in the week, even though she hadn’t opened her eyes at that point.
“It was an emotional moment,” Emil noted.
“That was the up. The down is she hasn’t done it again since.”
He had mentioned earlier on Thursday that because she had aspiration pneumonia from her breathing tube, her infection was likely to slow down her response time. However, he reported, her cough is almost completely gone.
Shands Hospital quickly addressed the change in Cassie’s situation with antibiotics when she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Being young and strong are factors in Cassie’s favor. It’s tough to take the situation in stride, especially after how well she reacted on Wednesday, but doctors advise patience.
Cassie is as talented on a hunter as she is on a jumper. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
For those who don’t know what happened, Cassie and her mount, Heviola, fell in the 1.40-meter Classic at the HITS show in Ocala.The 10-year-old Dutchbred mare was unhurt, but Cassie suffered the TBI in her fall.
Cassie is an accomplished rider who won the $100,000 Grand Prix de Penn National last year and the World Champion Hunter Rider Pro Challenge at the Capital Challenge Horse Show in 2019.
She was going fast in the jump-off at HITS when two distances to the next jump appeared. One was an inside turn, the other was a longer distance.
“I was watching and saw both distances,” said Emil.
“I saw the flyer; she was trying to fit in the shorter one, the horse was trying to pick up on the longer one and left early.”
The horse fell and her rider “got catapulted off the side.”
She hit her head just above her temple and left eye and back to the side; that’s where the contusions are on the scan, according to Emil, adding her only other injury is a big bruise on her side.
Emil noted that like every other rider, Cassie has fallen more than once.
“She always gets up and dusts off her pants and says `Let’s try again.’ She’s tough.”
But this time, it didn’t happen that way.
“It was really a miscommunication. It wasn’t Heviola’s fault and it wasn’t Cassie’s fault,” said Emil.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 7, 2022
Show jumper Cassandra Kahle, who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a fall during a competition last month, has been diagnosed with diffuse axonal injury (DAI) in her brain.
Emil Spadone, the owner of Redfield Farm where 29-year-old Cassie rides and trains, said the diagnosis was confirmed by an MRI. DAI happens when the brain rapidly shifts inside the skull as an injury is occurring. The long connecting fibers in the brain called axons are sheared as the brain rapidly accelerates and decelerates inside the hard bone of the skull, according to medical websites. It is one of the most common types of TBI.
Cassie’s supporters are behind a game plan for what’s next from her neurologist at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla.
“They are giving her medication to stimulate her to try to wake her up,” Emil reported. It’s slow-working, so there’s a 72-hour time frame for that.
“Regardless if she wakes or not, they want her to go to a special rehab place in about seven to 10 days,” said Emil. He said he is leaning toward the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with brain injury, spinal cord injuries and other neuromuscular conditions.
He noted, “a few people have reached out that may be able to help with getting her in there.”
That’s important, since Emil pointed out, “it is supposed to be the best place in the country. They have a special division solely dedicated to waking up the patient. And then the follow-up rehab will depend on where she is at when she awakes. She is strong, so of course, I am still hopeful she will recover more quickly than most.”
As often happens when there is a crisis, the horse show community has rallied around Cassie. A GoFundMe page to cover medical and rehab expenses for Cassie has been started by Liz Schindler McFadden. Click here to donate. Danielle Torano organized an effort to send food to Cassie’s nurses as a thank you for her care.Those who want to contribute can click on this link.
This is the backstory on Cassie, culled from previous reports:
Last Thursday night, she “cracked her eyes open and stared right at me,” said Emil.
“Then she followed the command of the thumbs up and two fingers.” That was something she was able to do earlier in the week, even though she hadn’t opened her eyes at that point.
“It was an emotional moment,” Emil noted.
“That was the up. The down is she hasn’t done it again since.”
He had mentioned earlier on Thursday that because she had aspiration pneumonia from her breathing tube, her infection was likely to slow down her response time. However, he reported, her cough is almost completely gone.
Shands Hospital quickly addressed the change in Cassie’s situation with antibiotics when she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Being young and strong are factors in Cassie’s favor. It’s tough to take the situation in stride, especially after how well she reacted on Wednesday, but doctors advise patience.
For those who don’t know what happened, Cassie and her mount, Heviola, fell in the 1.40-meter Classic at the HITS show in Ocala.The 10-year-old Dutchbred mare was unhurt, but Cassie suffered the TBI in her fall.
Cassie is an accomplished rider who won the $100,000 Grand Prix de Penn National last year and the World Champion Hunter Rider Pro Challenge at the Capital Challenge Horse Show in 2019.
Cassie winning the Grand Prix de Penn National. (Andrew Ryback photo)
She was going fast in the jump-off at HITS when two distances to the next jump appeared. One was an inside turn, the other was a longer distance.
“I was watching and saw both distances,” said Emil.
“I saw the flyer; she was trying to fit in the shorter one, the horse was trying to pick up on the longer one and left early.”
The horse fell and her rider “got catapulted off the side.”
She hit her head just above her temple and left eye and back to the side; that’s where the contusions are on the scan, according to Emil, adding her only other injury is a big bruise on her side.
Emil noted that like every other rider, Cassie has fallen more than once.
“She always gets up and dusts off her pants and says `Let’s try again.’ She’s tough.”
But this time, it didn’t happen that way.
“It was really a miscommunication. It wasn’t Heviola’s fault and it wasn’t Cassie’s fault,” said Emil.
by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 8, 2022
There are several choices for those who would like to make a donation in memory of Audrey Bostwick, well-known throughout the driving community, who died last month at the age of 91.
Growing up in Mount Airy, Pennsylvania, she graduated from the Stevens School and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and Master’s of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Her early careers included nursery school teacher, social worker and positions within educational program research and development.
Audrey Bostwick
An avid horsewoman and humanitarian, she started her involvement with horses at the age of five and spent her early life riding and driving in Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia. Her lifelong passion for all things equestrian led her to be a competitor, instructor, and clinician in many disciplines, including hunter/jumpers and equitation, side- saddle,and carriage driving.
She was a licensed judge, steward, and technical delegate specializing in pleasure driving (The American Driving Society Inc., U.S. Equestrian Federation, and American Horse Shows Association), Hunter/Jumper and Equitation (AHSA), as well as Side-Saddle (International Side-Saddle Organization). Audrey was a founding member of the American Driving Society. and served in various roles within the organization.
Her specialty in pleasure driving gained her participation and coaching opportunities at notable competitions throughout the U.S., Canada and England. As one of the most recognizable and beloved figures in the pleasure driving community, she leaves behind a network of those brought together by her endearing personality.
Her commitment to education was evident in her efforts with the American Driving Society and Delaware Valley University. She taught at Delaware Valley University as an adjunct instructor in the Equine Science & Management program for nearly 20 years. She was a mentor and friend to many students, sharing her passion for carriage driving, side-saddle, and intercollegiate riding.
She especially enjoyed her time spent at her home farm in Perkasie, Pa.,with her beloved ponies and dogs. An avid reader and book club member, she studied tree species, historical barns, and bird watching. Ms. Bostwick was passionate about the art of carriage driving and actively participated in the governance and direction of the sport for 47 years.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ms. Bostwick’s memory to the Delaware Valley University Equine Department,Delaware Valley University Office of Development,700 E Butler Ave., Doylestown, PA,18901.Donations also may be made to www.americandrivingsocciety.org or by mail to ADS, P.O. Box 278, Cross Plains, WI, 53528.
