Despite Potential Career-Ending Disasters, Equestrian-Horse Duo Set to Make a Grand Comeback

Giving up on her favorite horse was something out of the question for Katie Brickman. 9 years ago, Brickman with her hand in a cast, landed the then 4-year-old Flash who had injured himself while on the field. But the Equestrian from Welburn was determined to help Flash so that he could recover from that fatal injury. Like destiny meeting their match, the duo struck a bond that has endured and overcome several obstacles. 

Brickman’s faith was rewarded when the rider-horse duo ended up being selected for the elite Badminton Horse Trials Grassroots Championship. Flash and Katie Brickman would participate in the BE100 classes next month.

The Disastrous 2017 for Katie Brickman and Flash

2017 was not a lucky year for Brickman and Flash but they kept moving forward on the road of recovery. “ It was not a good year!” she told Horse and Hound. She flipped over a glass bottle while at work which pierced into her left hand and shattered. The injury left her hand’s artery and tendons damaged and required an 8-hour-long surgery.

This left her hand immobilized for weeks. At the same time, she visited Flash, a quirky horse, and found out, he injured himself. “I went to see him, me in my cast and him pretty much on three legs,” she recalls the incident with Horse and Hound.

Read More: “They Just Saved My Life That Day”: 25-Year-Old Equestrian Miraculously Overcame a Horrifying Brain Injury Once

A subsequent scan diagnosed Flash with a middle patella ligament rupture in his left stifle joint which is one of the rarest and fatal injuries. But losing hope was not an option for Brickman though her vet friend proposed to euthanize her dearest horse. She confessed, “ But I absolutely adore that horse – you love them all but he’s so special – that I wanted to try.”

Recovery and success ensued for horse and Rider

Brickman arranged for PRP cell therapy for Flash while undergoing another surgery and physiotherapy for her own injury. “It was stressful”, she recalls. She would accompany Flash in the stable as they spent long hours together. And fortunately, both recovered from their respective injuries. The duo went on to win an astonishing 3 BE80(T) events apart from the BE90 event.

“He Came back”, she said delightedly. Expressing her emotions after a ride together with Flash, Brickman said, “I didn’t care how we did, it was that feeling of being back out with him. I’d missed it for so long, I was buzzing, and I just cried the whole time. There’s nothing quite like it, and he loved it too.” And qualifying for Badminton was something beyond Brickman’s expectations. Through her story, she wants to instill hope into fellow Equestrians who are undergoing difficulties due to equine injuries. Isn’t her story inspiring, reflecting the strength of faith?  

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