Her daughter insisted she get back on, and she did.

Carolyn Merritt (left) shows Leavinem Speechless in over fences classes and her mother, Susan Magnabosco, shows him in AQHA equestrians with disabilities classes. (Journal photo) Scroll down for more Journal photos from the 2010 Region 10.

Fifteen years ago this past Mother’s Day, Susan Magnabosco got back on her American Quarter Horse.

It was no small feat at the time. The year before, in May 1994, Susan fell from her horse into a fence, and it literally tore her right elbow apart.

“You have to get back in the saddle,” her daughter, Carolyn (now Merritt), told her then; she was 15 at the time. “That’s what you’ve always told me.”

The injury was so bad, specialist after specialist told Susan they couldn’t fix it. The injury became septic – the fall happened in the pasture and the wound was contaminated with dirt, wood shavings, you name it – and doctors considered amputating the arm. At one point, her doctor even prepared Susan’s husband, Paul, for the worst.

On top of all that, Susan had an allergic reaction to some of her medication, and it destroyed the cilia in her inner ear. She lost her sense of balance.

It took 12 surgeries to repair her arm. It took her two years to regain her balance to walk comfortably again, and it was four years before she could drive.

But it was just a year before she was back on that horse.

“It was funny, one of the things they told me would help me with my balance was horseback riding,” Susan remembers with a laugh. “It was such a long haul to get my health back.”

It was just as tough to regain her confidence to ride. Carolyn got her mother back in the saddle, but showing wasn’t even a consideration at first. Eventually, Susan went along with Carolyn to AQHA shows. It wasn’t long before someone said she ought to try equestrians with disabilities classes, and her friends in the North Carolina Quarter Horse Association wouldn’t let her say no.

Susan now competes in every EWD class she can: equitation, trail, horsemanship and showmanship, and she did so at the 2010 Region 10 Championship in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Susan shows Carolyn’s horse, Leavinem Speechless, aka “Ozzie.” Carolyn rides over fences classes but the placid, gray gelding easily shifts gears for Susan in EWD.

“Ozzie is amazing,” Susan says. “Learning to trust the horse has been huge. Showmanship is the most difficult because I can tend to lose my balance on the ground.”

When they restructured her arm, doctors fused her elbow at an angle, because they knew she was a rider. Carolyn points out that it’s in perfect horsemanship position.

“NCQHA and AQHA have been wonderful to me,” Susan says. “My friends, the trainers, judges, everyone encouraged me. I remember Randy Ratliff told me once when I was nervous, ‘It’s just a horse show; as long as you stay on, you are a victor.’ He’s right.”

While in Boston for medical care, Susan received so many cards and flowers from her church back home in Wilmington, North Carolina, and her NCQHA show friends that people in the hospital thought she must be some kind of celebrity.

The accident also changed Carolyn’s life – she became an orthopedic trauma nurse: “My mom’s my hero,” she says.

Susan does wish that more people would show in EWD classes; often she’s the only one at their local shows.

“I do wish more people would come out and try (EWD) because it’s fun,” Susan says. “And it has changed my life – my confidence, my balance. It has helped me overcome so much.”

The American Quarter Horse Journal is in Raleigh for the Region 10 Championship.  Check out the slide show below (click on each photo to see the caption).

Look for a Regional Championship near you at www.aqha.com.

Christine Hamilton
Editor – general, rail & pattern, halter, health, breeding
American Quarter Horse Journal

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