This (pic'd) is NOT the way to start a horse show....
I run my kid's 4H open shows. We were having a 2 day speed show and a gal was just taking her horse into the arena to warm him up before the warm-ups. Horse didn't get very far in and something about the barrel laying on it's side just freaked him out(from what I was told I missed the initial accident). He started going backwards really fast and I believe she was trying to pull his nose around when he just went right over backwards on top of her. I was upstairs working in the entry booth when another worker up there says "we've got a rider down". I look out and this gal is just laying there with a couple people around talking to her. I pop the window open and I can hear one of the other council members on the phone with 911. So I holler to see if they've got an ambulance coming and yep sure do. So I announce that we had one on the way and everyone needs to get their horses back to the trailer.
So then I go down stairs, by this time they've got a wool cooler over her and you can see her one leg laying there at a funny angle. This is when I get there. She is white as the back ground here staring off into space and barely breathing. *insert internal panic here as I truly believe this woman is going to die*. So her close friend is holding her hand talking to her and I kneel down there just watching for her to keep breathing and praying to God I don't have to use my CPR training. Then she is laying there kinda gasping for air but her chest is moving like she's breathing. So I quickly rub my knuckles on her chest like we were taught to do first. She takes this BIG deep breath and then actually starts really breathing. It was right after this that she actually starts talking and kinda whispers that the saddle horn got her in the crotch. *This has all happened in the span of about 5 minutes if that*. Now the first responders are pulling in. They get out to her and I jump back out of the way, tell the one real quick what I observed. Then hear one of them say that she's going to get a helicopter ride. I speak up to make sure I hear correctly and ask if the helicopter is coming in. The one guy says yes. The guy that had been on the phone asks where they are going to land. The one fireman standing there points out to the field and says "There".
This is the field where we park trailers for the shows. Thankfully it was early enough there weren't many there. So I make a beline up the stairs and announce that ALL horses need to be loaded in their trailers or put in the barn NOW!!!!! (apparently I left out the fact there was a helicopter coming in). I THOUGHT I said there was one coming. lol So I go back down and our various council members are all standing around the arena just watching. Right behind where the one guy was standing was some horses tied to the trailer. So the guy that had called 911 and I head across the arena and start telling people that the helicopter is coming in and it's their choice but I want horses either in trailer or in the barn.
From the time the accident happened till they had her on the helicopter was just under 30 minutes.
Turns out the gal has a severely broken pelvis but as of Sunday afternoon, and this happened Saturday morning, she had NO internal injuries. She has to have surgery to repair the pelvis but last word is she would be ok eventually.
Thankfully the rest of the weekend was NOT as eventful.
