Courtney update as of 3am.  you may post this.

Courtney is holding on.  She remains on a ventilator and some mild sedation.  The sedation has been decreased because they have started the weaning process to get Court off the vent.  Sedation needs to be decreased so the patient will be able to breath on her own.  They have turned the the breath rate on the vent to 8 and Courtney is breathing on her own over the vent rate.  The bolt that measures the intracranial pressure remains in place, along with a ventricular drain.  The ventricular drain has been clamped.  They have not had to open it to relieve any brain pressure.  Concerns are that the sedation has been decreased and there has not been more activity on Courtneys behalf.  The brain needs a long time to heal…so keep praying!

RD

Let’s keep adding to the prayers in the post below and see if we can turn 100’s into 1000’s before the end of the weekend! I believe the prayers are working. Not fast enough for ¤e, but I’m not the most patient person, eh? But there are hundreds of thousands of riders and dressage people around the world and the power of all their prayers will surely do it. So PLEASE keep taking one minute to send your prayer for Courtney. Thank you again!!

RD

The first day of the Palm Beach Derby is over and it was a very long day indeed. The Grand Prix went from 10:30am until 4:40pm and so I was at the show from 8:00am doing morning warm-ups.  First, let me say that I was very pleased over all with the Canadian riders’ progress since the last show. We have quite a few very green, young horses in our group and they all looked much improved and had considerably higher scores, with Belinda placing 3rd with 68.6 behind Liz Austin with 68.9 and the winner, Tina Konyot with right around 70%.  No one is showing the degreee of excellence necessary to beat an Ashley Holzer or Steffen Peters at this time, but I do see a few amazingly talented prospects among the group that could someday soon be up in the low to mid 70’s, provided that their training is consistently of a high caliber.

Two things that caught my attention were: 1) How many people were wearing helmuts today, and 2) That was good since it was cold, windy and people were lunging galloping horses in the middle of the field next to those riding and warming up. I really wish that there were a dedicated area, properly fenced in, only for lunging which would be somewhere completely separated from the rest of the areas for warming up.  I also think that the vet checks at all shows should take place within a fenced in area so that, should a horse get loose, as one did yesterday, it could not run away and injure itself or anyone standing in its way, including members of the ground jury.

Tomorrow is another big day with both the Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix for the Freestyle to be held one after the other. I want to congratulate all the winners today at every level and wish them all the best of luck tomorrow. (Especially the Canadians!) 

Cheers!

RD

I wish I could report better news but as of an hour or so ago, Lendon said that there has been no change in Courtney’s situation. She remains in a coma but I just want to remind everyone that I personally know more than a few people who have come out of this state after many days and even months with little long-term deficiencies. So keep the prayers coming because Courtney is a fighter and needs us to go on fighting for her!
I was amazed by the number of helmets I saw being worn at the Derby the last 2 days. God works in mysterious ways and I do not believe that Courtney is at all finished with her journey in doing amazing things on this earth.  So please keep posting your “I believe in a miracle for Courtney” messages on the post below this one. I hope that Lendon will share all of your messages with her family.

Love to all.

RD

RD

I am looking forward to another great show this week at the Palm Beach Derby, despite the chill which continues in the air.  The Grand Prix is very big again, even without some of the usual combinations such as Ashley Holzer and Pop Art, defending champions from last year, and some of the other Americans who chose to sit this one out. Even without these riders the class goes from 10:30am to 4:30pm so it will be a very full day for the judges and all of us spectators alike.

Tonight, Mary Phelps hosted the 2nd annual Equestrian Aid Foundation benefit with lovely food and fantastic silent and live auction items. With so many of our friends being helped presently by the EAF, it is impossible to maintain their current level of giving without everyone’s help.  If you were not able to attend but would like to see how you can give to this amazing organization, dedicated to supporting those in our industry suffering from life threatening illnesses or injuries, please go to Equestrianaidfoundation.org.  Thank you!

I will be posting daily comments on the World Equestrian Games qualifying classes each evening.

Cheers!

RD

The news from Lendon about Courtney was sort of a mixed bag this evening. The doctors tried to bring her back out of the induced coma earlier today but discovered she is truly in a coma at this point. Though this was not what anyone wanted to hear, it is not unusual with a brain injury. The body knows when to shut down to allow it to heal without outside stimulation which can bring on greater stress to many of its functions because of the anxiety which , many times,accompanies consciousness. This was also the case with Darren Chiachia who remained in a coma for many weeks before regaining consciousness. In the meantime, Courtney’s vital signs remain stable and I feel certain that her high degree of physical fitness and strong determination will see her through this crisis, along with the many thousands of prayers which are going out to her and her loved ones constantly.

I will continue to update everyone as I know more about Courtney and our other friends who are hospitalized at present.

RD

My friend and old student, Terry Seiss, is also an ER nurse at St. Mary’s and Wellington Regional where I got her forst hand expertise a few weeks ago myself. Here is her update on Courtney’s condition.
“Courtney is in the ICU. Has a bolt, and her head pressures are ok. She is intubated and sedated. Has 2 brain bleeds and a pulmonary contusion. It is a wait and see for now.”

I know we will all continue our prayers for Courtney and the others.

RD

Please add Courtney to your prayers tonight and every day until she is fine. She suffered a fractured skull today in an accident on a young horse and was air-lifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in North Palm Beach, Florida, which has an excellent trauma unit. I spoke to Lendon at 8:40pm tonight and she told me that Courtney’s vital signs are good though she is heavily sedated as is the usual case where there is bleeding to the brain. She will be closely monitored tonight and moved into a room in the ICU tomorrow. I know I share every-one’s thoughts of love and good wishes for her complete and speedy recovery and to let her loved ones know we are all here for them.
I also want to mention that Charlie Weaver, whose birthday is Friday, the 5th, is still in the ICU in Miami and we send him as well as injured 3-day riders, Jan Byyny and Rebecca Howard who both were seriously hurt at Pine Top Horse Trials last week.

Our sports all have an inherent risk involved with them and I am very sorry to say that there is not much we can do to eliminate it. These are all top professionals who know what they are doing, but horses are so quick and life can be changed forever in a heartbeat, as we know only too well.

So please say a special prayer for all of these wonderful friends of ours and I will keep you updated on Courtney’s recovery as I know more.

Sending out love,

RD

Robert and I are very fortunate to have some great friends both in and out of the horse world. Among our dearest are Ken Berkley and Scot Stewart, two of the most accomplished professionals in the Hunter/Jumper industry today. Many years ago when Robert and I lived in New Jersey, our home was right around the corner from theirs and it just so happened that the same held true down here in Wellington where we both had places in Bedford Mews.

Ken and Scot have shared so many wonderful memories with us that they are beyond counting, but what makes them most special is not the great trips we’ve been on together along with our other great friends, but rather the fact that we are all truly like family, including the unconditional love part. So many times Ken, who can host and prepare a dinner or any size party like no other person I know, will call and say, “Come on over later for some steak”, and seemingly effortlessly, he will prepare a feast worthy of a king in minutes when most would have required days.  Scot is equally amazing in that he still, after so many years at the top of the sport, has as much passion for it as I remember feeling toward the beginning of my career. He will find and purchase horses  and ponies directly off the Internet with incredible success and have even more success in finding great homes for them soon thereafter. I love watching the smile he gets on his face when he sees a pony he likes on-line and calls me over to watch his next purchase going around.  Amazing!  These two guys have proven their abilities as all around horsemen again and again, resulting in absolutely gorgeous homes and farms in both New Jersey and Wellington. But way stronger their material wealth is their obvious love for each other and all their friends whose lives they enrich with laughter and joy at every get together.

So without getting any more schmaltzy, I just want to say that, speaking for both Robert and myself, we love Ken and Scot more than words can express, though I guess I did just try to do just that.
Oh well - love you guys!

RD

So here’s the thing - I’ve been training pretty much flat out since taking on the post of Coach/Technical Advisor for the Canadian Team. Anyone who knows me knows that once I commit to something, I become pretty much obsessive/compulsive over it until I have achieved my goal or at the very least failed miserably while trying my best to do so. Well, this job is no exception! I promised the riders and their Federation I would do everything in my power to bring them the success they wish for, provided they give 100% to the cause as well. And I am very impressed by every-one’s effort so far toward making great strides toward becoming a medal contending team.

I want to compliment the Riders, Owners, Staff, Supporters, and all the new members of the Federation’s High Performance Committees for their hard work and dedication to building a future which will truly enable Canada to “Own The Podium” again and again.

As for me, I’m taking my first and probably only weekend off starting tomorrow afternoon. I’m calling it my “Mental Health” weekend but I suspect my students are thinking a couple of days without “Uncle Robert” around might not be too bad either.

Cheers!

RD

I am a firm believer in the power of prayers and that nothing is impossible when enough of us get together and send out healing and loving thoughts to those of our friends in need. I know for sure that ths has made a huge difference in the lives of my Mom and so many others.
So to add to those of our friends and family we are already praying for, I would love it if everyone will remember 2 wonderful horse people who need our well wishes right now; Charlie Weaver, one of the top Hunter trainers of this era, and Dr. Midge Leitch, many time Olympic Team Veterinarian. Charlie had a fall and suffered traumatic injuries to his spine and is recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami under the care of the same great doctors who did my back surgery a year and a half ago. I can tell you for sure there is no better place in the world for Charlie to be receiving his care and hear he is making great improvement daily. Our friend, Kim Tudor, has created a facebook page for him where you can go for updates on his progress and to send him messages. Please do this as often as possible as he is definitely enjoying hearing from us all.

Midge was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer which has gone to her spine in a few places and is estrogen driven. I spoke with her today and she is very upbeat and is already feeling positive results from the estrogen blocking drugs as well as the radiation she has received to kill the tumors. This is great news and I feel certain these medications will starve those little suckers right into a very quick and painless demise.
I told Midge that we absolutely have got to stop having all this drama in our lives, since we promised each-other we would do exactly that after our last Olympic stint together. It seems neither of us did a very good job of simplifying our lives, eh?

One final note to say that I was very sad to hear of the passing of Sue Sexton, one of the greatest horse photographers and a good friend for many years. Sue was one of those people who I could run into after not seeing her for years and pick right up as if it were yesterday. She had so many friends and will be sorely missed.

So, to my friends and readers around the world, keep the prayers and good thoughts going out to these and all the others who we know and love. We should not only hope for, but truly expect miracles to happen. I see them every day of my life!

Cheers!

RD