Everyone on the show jumping circuit knows Karen Golding. She was a longtime groom for Olympian Michael Matz and the caretaker of the great Jet Run, with a reputation so outstanding that she became the only groom in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Karen went on to work as an Olympic stable manager and then an FEI steward.
Karen Golding always was upbeat before her current situation. (Photo © 2013 by Nancy Jaffer)
But several decades ago, she fell and broke her ankle, which started a series of health problems that have spiraled and gotten much worse. Even though her issues included diabetes and heart concerns, she was able to control them and continue working.
Then three years ago, she broke her other ankle in a car accident. Despite that, she was still able to get around in her wheelchair and work. However, things got out of control last March. Then, after being hospitalized in the autumn when she fell out of her wheelchair, she eventually wound up in a rehab facility where she didn’t get the kind of care she needed.
“It’s just been a horrible, horrible situation for her for the last 10 months. She’s devoted her entire life to this industry, and I think we need to take care of her,” said Jimmy Herring, who is working with another friend of Karen’s, Maureen Pethick, in putting together a GoFundMe page and helping organize private donations to cover the enormous expenses of Karen’s care. The goal is to raise $120,000, which would cover her costs for a year.
“She’s done so much for so many over the years, and she needs us right now; she needs her equestrian family, she needs help,” said Maureen, who was the U.S. Equestrian Team’s director of dressage in the days when she worked closely with Karen.
Karen Golding with Olympic double gold medalist Joe Fargis when they were inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. (Photo © 2007 by Nancy Jaffer)
After Jimmy went to Florida last summer to see Karen, he realized her condition wasn’t improving and was, in fact, getting worse, as she was suffering from bedsores. It got to the point where doctors had to amputate her right leg below the knee. Meanwhile, attorney Krysia Nelson, a friend of Karen’s also came into the picture to try and get things straightened out.
Krysia, who used to ride with Michael Matz, holds Karen’s power of attorney. She brought in Dr. Michele Hollis, a concierge physician who also is a rider. The doctor said Karen should leave the rehab facility and be treated at her Wellington, Fla., home. Michele advised she could find the right people to work for Karen there, which would help improve her patient’s health.
Karen, 72, who can’t get out of bed, needs wound care daily from Allstate Health Care, but also additional assistance, including two men who come every night to turn her in bed so she doesn’t get bedsores. They perform other care as well. Her housemate, Tracey Edge, also helps out in the evenings.
“When they say it takes a village; I’ve got a mini-city,” Karen said with a chuckle.
“I feel so lucky with the people that I have.”
The new regimen is working. Last week, she had a milestone when she was able to sit up on the side of her bed during her physical therapy session. Even though it was painful, she was determined to do it.
“I feel like I really, really achieved something,” she commented.
Karen works with weights on her arms to try improving her strength. She also is looking forward to getting a prosthesis for what previously was her “good” leg.
However, she has exhausted the long-term care she can receive under Medicare, and was spending so much money to get the assistance she needs at home that it rapidly emptied her savings accounts.
Karen has gotten help from the Matz family and other private donors, including USET Foundation Treasurer Philip Richter and jumper rider Teri Kessler, as well as the Equestrian AID Foundation, which gave her a grant (it is only permitted to assist with living expenses, not care).
Missy Shelley-Mello, who takes care of Karen’s German shepherd, Elton John, also helps by sitting in and helping sort things out when doctors are explaining various medical options and treatments.
“She’s up against so much,” said Missy, but she believes if Karen gets the prosthetic and can get back in the golf cart, she can resume the life she loves.
“There are quite a few people who have stepped up,” said Karen, expressing how grateful she is.
“We’re trying to raise as much as we can, so hopefully, with this better care, she can learn to get around in a wheelchair again,” said Jimmy.
“I know she wants to work again, I know she’s going to try, but one step at a time.”
Karen Golding (second from left, front row) at the 2022 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Dinner.
At the very least, the hope is that Karen can get well enough to live in her house with only a companion, rather than nurses and the rest of the current entourage.
Karen would like to go back to stewarding so she can interact with the riders, but most of all, she longs to be more indpendent.
As she explained, “I don’t like relying on people to do things for me.”
To help support Karen’s care using a check, make it out to Karen Golding and send it care of the lawyer who has her power of attorney–Krysia Nelson, P.O. Box 66, Keswick, Va. 22947. To contribute to Karen’s care using GoFundMe, here is the link
