Thank you to 14-year-old Natalie Hilty of Dayton, Ohio for writing this story for GoHorseShow readers. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and their beloved Sierra.
For the past ten years, the World Equestrian Center (WEC), formerly the Roberts Arena in Wilmington, Ohio has hosted the Tough Enough To Wear Pink cancer benefit horse show. My family and I have been to this show a few times and have enjoyed all of the events including great shopping, big classes, and a super show staff. This year, however, was marked by tragedy and now uncertainty for my family as every day we are praying for our sweet, injured mare.
My younger sister, Courtney, and her horse, Sierra, had a traumatic accident at this show. Courtney and Sierra had just finished the Novice Youth Showmanship pattern, placing fifth out 45, and exited to the makeup arena to prepare for their age group class.
While they were in the makeup arena, Sierra reared up on her hind legs and became vertical with the ground. Instead of coming back down on all fours, she lost her balance, fell backward, and landed on the right side of her head. Sierra tried to recover from her fall, but instead, flopped from side to side until she was restrained and finally sedated.
This was very out of character for her and we still aren’t sure what caused this. My family was reassured by many people that Courtney’s handling and schooling of Sierra were right on point, adding to the mystery of what triggered this episode.
Many people gathered around, keeping her as calm as possible and reassuring all of us involved. We learned that day, in a new way, how much this community cares for its horses and riders. Sierra’s nose was bleeding heavily and she managed to scuff her forehead and ears, ripping off a section of her forelock.
We kept hearing rumors of a “crack” that was heard when she hit the ground. For quite a while, things did not look good. The vet was en route fielding many phone calls and preparing for the worst. The show announcer asked for the R&L arena to be evacuated. We sat and waited.
Toward the end of the sedation, Sierra miraculously forced herself up and was standing on all fours, thankfully proving wrong any theory that one of her legs or her neck were broken. The vet arrived once Sierra was standing and after a full assessment moved the horse to a private barn for a complete evaluation.
Courtney stayed in the tack stall right next to Sierra and the WEC staff and she checked on Sierra every hour through the night. We left Wilmington Sunday night with a neurologically compromised horse who now was blind in one eye.
Since then, Sierra has been under the great care of Tim and Lynne Puthoff, Jessica Braswell at Puthoff Performance Horses, and Drs. Charlie Hartzell and Kathleen Lennon.
Wednesday, it was decided that Sierra would make the trip to Rood & Riddle in Lexington, Kentucky for further testing and evaluation. They were encouraged to hear that there are no fractures, she is neurologically sound, and her optic nerves are intact.
While somewhat guarded, the vet and ophthalmologist remain hopeful about Sierra’s improvement and recovery. We are all hopeful that her vision will be restored as well after this severe trauma.
We are very grateful to Dr. Brittany of EquiVet at the World Equestrian Center, Roby Roberts, and the WEC staff. Also, thank you to the TETWP announcer for praying for Sierra before the show on Sunday, all the prayers from our horse community friends and family, and especially our trainer Lynne Puthoff for all her support. We continue to be hopeful for Sierra’s health, sight, and full recovery.
