Mary Lee and Amber
I wanted to write this in hopes of helping anyone else who has had a bad accident and has lowered self confidence and self esteem because of it. If I help one person, my writing will be well worth the time. I had 2 near death accidents in 2006, 6 months apart from each other. I didn’t think I could ever compete again, much less compete on one of that horse’s who broke my ribs and collapsed my lung. But by the grace of God and support from my husband and dear friends, I was able to get back in the saddle.April 19th, 2006 I was at a barrel race. My mare a week previous to this day was acting like a poop and I had taken her to the vet and had them go over her with a fine tooth comb. Nothing wrong with her. So after her vet visit, I felt confident of a good run that night. She had worked great at home that week. I was sitting on her just outside the alleyway waiting on the ground being drug for the open and suddenly I felt what felt like an earthquake. Suddenly she reared in the air. I grabbed the horn and said, Shasta NO as she went up and flipped over on top of me. As she was scrambling to get up, my foot was in the stirrup. I said, oh Lord, please don’t let her drag me. It was like God gently took my foot out of the stirrup. My leg dropped to the ground.
The pain was unreal as the saddle horn had hit me in the abdomen. The ambulance came and took me to the hospital. Friends took care of Shasta. By the grace of God there was nothing broken. I went home bruised, battered and heart broken. About 2 weeks later I noticed a lump on my lower abdomen that wasn’t going away. I went to my Doctor. He looked at it and said, I am getting you in to a surgeon today. The surgeon saw me and said, go home, pack your bags and go to the hospital. in the morning. We need to go in and find out what this lump is. It was a hematoma that had gotten infected. The hematoma had gone under my pelvic muscle. Surgery was done and I was hooked up to this vacuum thing that sucked out all the muck stuff. That was VERY hard for me to look at. I was thinking, WHY?? But I recovered. When I was told by the Doctor I could ride, I started riding on of my younger horses. She was a 5 year old. Great mare, loved riding her. Six months after my accident, I entered Sandi at our NBHA district show. I was so excited to have come back from a bad wreck. Silly me, I got to visiting with people and time went by and I didn’t get Sandi warmed up. They called my class. I went in with the attitude, I want to win this, and went to hustling Sandi to the first. A cold front had come in about 15 minutes before my run. Not being warmed up, being young and feeling a cold front, Sandi bucked. I was forward in my saddle and there was nothing I could do. I flew through the air, landed on my stomach and I hit the ground. There I died…
I felt myself going up and I was looking down at people surrounding my body. I felt a peace. I heard a voice say, it’s not her time, she must go back. I don’t know if that was God or an angel, but it was one of them. Mind you I am a very spiritual person. When I woke up I saw Lance Graves over me. I said to him, I can’t do this anymore. He said, Mary it’s time you ride the blond. What he meant was it was time for me to ride Snickers “LR Frenchman’s Gift”, my mare whom he had trained and “futuritied” and won with. I went to the hospital and they found 2 broken ribs and a partial collapsed lung. Dang it all hurt. I’ve felt pain before, especially with the Shasta incident, but nothing like broken ribs. I was in the hospital for 4 days. The Doctor didn’t want to release me on day 4, but I begged him and told him my Dalmatian missed me and I needed to go home where he could be with me. The doctor gave in and let me go home.
Again I recovered, but I was like, I can’t do this. My love is horse’s and to compete on them. I love barrel racing. Lance Graves was such an inspiration to me. He convinced me that I would be ok, that I would come back. My husband was like, may-be you shouldn’t run anymore. I was like, but I love this. Because of Lance, my friends, and God I was able to get back in the saddle and run again. It wasn’t easy at first as I was running to the first barrel with Sandi when this happened, so running to the first barrel with Snickers wasn’t an easy task.Lance kept working with me and giving me that encouragement that everything will be ocean it was.
Today, Sandi and I are running again. I still have to trust her more and I am gaining that trust with each run. Snickers and I are great. I have been winning money on her and placed in the top 5 of the palomino world show this year. Snickers are getting use to me and me to her. With Sandi, that was my fault. I didn’t warm up a green horse on a cold day. I knew better, but learned by my mistakes. Sandi is a wonderful mare with allot of heart. We are getting it together and she has won money with the NBHA.
I hope I can inspire others to go on and don’t give up your passion with your horse even though you’ve had an accident. Unfortunately accidents happen in the horse world. They happen everywhere. I was 50 when these accidents happened to me, so trust me, it wasn’t an easy task for me to heal and come back. If I can do it, so can you.
Blessings,
Mary Lee
Inspiring story. Thanks much!
Want to talk about Cowgirl up, huh? 1st accident you got back on, had 2nd accident you got back on. I would say that is inspirational!
HELLO MARY, THANK YOU FOR THE STORY…I AM GOING TO BE INVOLVED IN HORSES AGAIN…I WAS HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER IN 1988 AND MY LIFE HAS NOT BEEN THE SAME IN ALOT OF WAYS…BUT I AM MORE DETERMINED NOW TO KNOW YOUR STORY HAS SAID TO ME TO “KEEP ON KEEPIN ON” UNTIL I SEE THIS HAPPEN IN MY LIFE…GOD HAS A PLAN AND I KNOW HE WILL GIVE ME THE DESIRES OF MY HEART AND I JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE…THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY…NANNY IN SUNNY FLORIDA…
“ITS NEVER TOO LATE”…
THANKS, NANNY IN SUNNY FLORIDA
It’s awesome to see that people still have the love of horses and the passion to run.I had a 3yr old roll over on me when she spooked at a semi on the road by our house{he honked his horn}I was in the hospital for 3 days unconcious{thank god I had my helmet on}when I woke up I couldn’t remember a thing for about 4 months, I had broken ribs{4}a partial collapsed lung and internal bleeding,my love of horses and my passion to run along with my husband and 2 boys is the only thing that got me thru.I have been riding since I was 3 and could not imagine NOT riding,as the doctors had suggested,It took awhile ,1 year to be exact,before I could get back on a horse and then it was the kids horse.I did eventually get back on my mare but due to compications 2 years later with a pregnancy we lost her,but not before she gave me back myself,All of me.The love of horses and the Passion to run are second only to the love of family.
Mary, what a wonderful story, and how inspiring! On July 18, 2003, at the age of 53 and still competing in rodeos, I was critically injured in the alleyway at a rodeo. After the initial 8 days and 3 surgeries in the hospital, followed by many more hospitalizations and surgeries, as well as 2 years spent in a wheelchair unable to walk, I loped around a set of barrels at a barrel race exactly 5 years later on July 18, 2008! God is good -all the time!! Some think I’m crazy, some think I’m blessed, but one thing is for sure – people like you and I are living proof that ALL things are possible through the good Lord! Best wishes!
Thank you so much for the insperation… I will be sure to pass this along to a friend. June 28th 2008 my best friend was seriously injured in a horse accident. She was on her way to the first barrel when instead of turning her horse decided to jump the fence. It hit the top board with its knees and flipped landing completely on her. She is just a very small 34 yr old. She was knocked out and not breathing and remembers nothing till at the hospital. She was released the next day with broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder ( badly ) and i huge chunk out of the back of her calf that required many stitches inside and out. Then later she ended up with a blood clot in that leg. She is doing much better now and has been riding at home… Tomorrow she plans to make her first run at our local NBHA show. She is rather nervous and being that i was the first to her side after the accident i am too… Thats why i find it ironic to find your story on a day like today… thank you so much for sharing and good luck with life!!!
I just wanted to thank all of you for your nice complements and wonderfull stories. You all have inspired me to.I am so touched that I was able to help people. Thank you again so much.
Blessings
Mary
Mary,
This is an inspirational story! I am so glad I had found your story because I had a bad accident last year…but have yet to get my confidence back..and have since lost my balance. Its so hard for me sometimes..and I am so glad to have a mare that puts up with me. I have found a couple of friends that are helping me find a way to improve my riding. I have concluded this weekend that I just need to go back to the very first basics and learn all over again..how to ride. Sometimes, I find me asking myself why do I kept trying..but I love horses so much that I can’t give up!
Again I am glad I have located your story! You will be in my heart and mind as I go continue through this struggle! I want to start competeing in Ranch sorting in april 2010..but I have to be a good rider to make my mare much happier!
Thank you so much!
Jennifer G.