by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 16, 2022
A two-year-old video of Olympic eventing double gold medalist Mark Todd striking a horse with a tree branch continues to wreak havoc with his reputation.
The latest fallout from the controversy that erupted over airing of the incident is the announcement today of an interim suspension of his race training license imposed by the British Horseracing Authority.
Todd, a 65-year-old New Zealander who won individual gold at the 1984 and 1988 Games to become an icon of the sport, was named the FEI (international equestrian federation) eventer of the 20th Century. He had retired from eventing in 2000 to train racehorses. But in 2008, he made an eventing comeback and also continued to be involved in racing. He retired from eventing competition for the second time in 2019.
Mark Todd. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
The video was made during a cross-country clinic where Todd was the instructor. A horse stopped on the edge of a water obstacle and would not proceed. Todd urged the animal to go forward, using the branch on its hindquarters, and the horse finally went into the water.
Investigations are continuing into the circumstances of this situation. Todd, who received a British knighthood in 2013, will not be able to enter horses in British races or internationally until the probe is completed.
A statement from the racing authority noted, “The trainer has admitted the individual involved in the video was him, has apologized for his actions and agreed to the imposition of an interim suspension.”
Prior to getting his British racing license in 2020, Todd had been a successful trainer in New Zealand. In eventing, he is a four-time winner of the Badminton 5-star and a five-time winner of the Burghley 5-star, both in Britain.
In a statement, Todd said, “I wholeheartedly apologize to the horse and all involved for my actions in this video clip. One of the main things I preach is about establishing a mutual respect between horse and rider, and that patience and kindness is the best way to get results.
Mark Todd on McLaren at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina. (Photo © 2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I believe this is one of the main attributes, along with a great empathy with animals, that has enabled me to have a long and successful career in eventing. I am very disappointed in myself that I did not adhere to that in this case.”
In the wake of the scandal, Todd resigned as a patron of World Horse Welfare.
That organization stated, “The treatment of the horse in this video is disturbing and unacceptable. There is no place in the horse-human partnership for such use of force. Mark agrees that his behavior was wrong and we welcome his apology.”
It added, “Mark is a consummate horseman, who cares deeply for horses and their welfare but, in this case, either through losing his patience or acting out of frustration, he has badly let himself down.”
The charity added a warning that applies to everyone working with horses–especially in an era when very little is private and everyone has the ability to produce a video of anything.
“We all need to take heed from this episode,” the charity noted.
“If equestrian sport, which we actively support, is to continue to maintain the acceptance of the public–its social license–there cannot be any tolerance for unacceptable practices, no matter how experienced the rider or trainer.”
This is reminiscent of the outcry after a German coach punched a horse in the Tokyo Olympic pentathlon when it refused and its frustrated rider–who had been standing first in the five-part competition–burst into tears. The photos went worldwide. The incident didn’t help the cause of keeping riding in the pentathlon, and the show jumping part of that sport will be dropped after the 2024 Olympics. The fate of pentathlon itself is still uncertain for the 2028 Olympics.
There was an outcry among animal rights activists over the pentathlon scandal. PETA suggested all equestrian sports should be dropped from the Olympics, even though there can be no comparison between the situation of riding horses drawn by lot, as it relates to pentathlon, and the disciplines of dressage, eventing and show jumping, where riders train and develop their horses for years.
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 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 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.
