A cancer diagnosis is startling and scary; it would turn anyone’s world upside down. When you’re an active sixteen-year-old whose world is consumed with sports, social events, and horse shows, it is the last thing you would ever expect. Such was the case for Rebecca Brown of Logan, New Jersey.
In March of 2014, after falling during a basketball game and being checked out for a concussion at her local hospital, doctors noticed several lumps on Brown’s neck. Further investigation and an MRI led to the discovery of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
A whirlwind of doctors, treatments and hospital visits ensued. Over the next several months, Brown would go through four cycles of chemotherapy at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia followed by fourteen days of radiation at The University of Pennsylvania.
The fear of dealing with cancer’s unknowns was alleviated in part by Brown’s connection to horses. She has owned her all-around gelding, Gota Show Me Off, fondly known as Levi since he was a weanling. “He was my confirmation gift,” says Brown. “He was born at the farm with Lyndsey and Anthony.” Brown has been showing with Lyndsey and Anthony Curiale of Curiale Quarter Horses for the past five years.
Brown and Levi had just gotten their start as a team when cancer struck. With a passion for riding and many goals in her sights, Brown was determined to not let the illness slow her down.
She shares, “The diagnosis happened really quickly. I was in the hospital for ten days. From there, I did my treatments at an outpatient center. The doctors told me I could do anything I felt I could do.”
For Brown, that meant spending time at Curiale’s farm with Levi. “I rode as much as I could. Some days it was hard, but whenever I could be, I was at the farm riding.”
No matter your age, dealing with the repercussions of chemotherapy takes a heavy toll. Brown says that the support Lyndsey and Anthony showed her during her treatment made it possible to stick with her dreams. “I’ve always loved horses and having Levi to ride has helped me through it. In spite of the cancer, I had a goal I could work toward.”
But chemo did take a toll on her body and energy. Brown goes on to say, “I got really lightheaded, tired and nauseous. Lyndsey and Anthony helped me ride and would get Levi ready for me. Lyndsey always knew when I didn’t feel good. She never pushed me past the point I couldn’t go.”
That summer, as Brown went through her rounds of chemotherapy, she continued to ride and show.
“In 2014, I was able to show all summer, even if not to the level I wanted,” says Brown. At many shows she and Levi competed only in showmanship, but for her, being in the environment she loves was enough.
She adds, “I didn’t always feel good, but even though I felt sick and lightheaded, I wanted to show. Without Lyndsey and Anthony’s support, I couldn’t have done any of it. They have been like my second family.”
Last fall, only a month after completing chemotherapy, she and Levi competed at the 2014 Level 1 East Championships in Tennessee where they brought home a win in Three-Year-Old Geldings along with a top-ten finish in Level 1 14-18 Showmanship, and a semi-final qualification in Level 1 14-18 Equitation.
After completing her treatments, Brown says her prognosis is positive. “Today I am cancer free. For the past few months I’ve just had routine check-ups. I have a very strong prognosis and a clean bill of health.”
With her health in check, Brown and Levi have been able to focus on adding new events to their repertoire. She says, “This year we’ve been working really hard on horsemanship and trying to do well. I’ve been showing a lot in 2015, and it’s meant so much to me to get back into showing at the level I am now.”
This past week they competed in horsemanship at the Level 1 East Championships in Lexington, Virginia. Going into horsemanship she said her biggest hope was for a clean pattern. “I just want a really good pattern. The placing doesn’t matter, it will be enough for me to get through it – accomplish my goals of showing that all our hard work up to this year paid off,” Brown says.
Victory for Brown and, Gota Show Me Off, is about so much more than callbacks or trophies. Though the team didn’t make the finals in Youth Horsemanship, Curiale says Brown was thrilled with her ride. “Levi was really good and Becca was very pleased with him. They’ve come a long way together.”
For this pair, making it to the show ring is success enough. Watching her beam as she stands next to the four-year-old gelding, offers proof of the healing power of horses. The young competitor would likely agree that the respite found in the saddle gave her the strength to get through one of life’s scariest challenges.
