54 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Positive Prognosis
Even with the two rods, Devon has side-to-side movement,
although she admits that tilting her head backwards feels
awkward, rusty but not painful. Her back is still stiff. She has
trouble looking backwards when walking, but can look both ways
over her shoulders.
“I spent two weeks in the hospital, then moved to an acute
rehab center for five weeks,” she recounted. “I spent three-and-
a-half weeks at home before I went back to work to teach – I did
in-home physical therapy, Rehab Without Walls. I qualified for that
and they got me very mobile around my house and living area. I
started teaching and driving again at about 10 weeks. My last visit
was at 12 1/2 weeks with the occupational therapist to get me on
my horse. It’s been six-and-a-half months. I can trot in two-point
with my head up. I’m not jumping yet, but I’m cantering.”
The horse gods smiled on Devon, but this whole process has
taken its toll. Therapy started off with a bang, like boot camp,
but the therapists assured her that she could do everything they
asked. She worked hard, determined to eke out every iota of that
95 percent chance of recovery prognosticated by her surgeon. It
wasn’t easy.
“I lost 100 percent of my muscle tone,” recalled Devon. “I lost 28
pounds – I had been 148 and I’m 5’8”. When I saw myself, I was
literally a bag of bones, the skin hanging off my arms and legs.
They said your muscles start to come back in about six weeks,
but I started filling out my clothes and seeing real improvement at
about the four-month point.”
Although Devon is single, she never ever felt alone. “Every day,
even after a long day at the horse show, which was a 40 minute
drive to the hospital, people were coming for lunch and dinner,
keeping me updated about the show, making me laugh. They
even fed me at first, because I couldn’t use my hands for about
10 days in intensive care,” she said. “One very dear friend, Jeff
Nunns, lives with me and became my savior. Because of Jeff,
I was allowed to go directly home. He took care of me and my
dogs and cats. He did the horse laundry and all the billing. My
customers made a meal project – every other night for the first
four weeks I was at home they would either come in with dinner or
leave it at the door. I was never alone.”
Then & Now
Devon started riding at five. On Sundays, she accompanied
her father to visit her grandmother and afterwards they went to
a nearby “hack stable” and rented horses to trail ride. Devon’s
mother, who also rode, encouraged her. Four years later, Devon
got her wish: a Quarter Horse named Emma Peel.
“Emma was my first horse, and I was serious about showing,
but only did local stuff until I was about 18,” recalled Devon.
“That’s when I hooked up with Rob Gage and Judy Martin (who
coached, among others, Lisa Jacquin). Judy has helped me with
jumpers for years. When she sold her facility, Sea Horse Riding
Club, I worked for the new owners until 2004. They gave me the
training part of the business and I operate Miraleste Farms LLC
out of Sea Horse.”
Devon’s clientele ranges from short stirrup pony kids to adult
amateurs. One lady, 62 years young, competes in the 1.0 meter
jumpers. Devon’s enthusiasm fills her days with about 12 lessons,
on the flat and over fences. “What gives me goose bumps is when
somebody gets it,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s a short stirrup kid
or an older rider. When they jump down a line and they finally
understand how it works, rather than just doing it – that’s one of
the greatest moments.”
By the time this issue is in print, Devon will have started trotting
poles to get back the feeling for jumping. All in all, she was “lucky”
– a word she finds pitifully inadequate to describe how and why
she survived a catastrophic crash without permanent disability –
and she knows that she was blessed to have people rally when
she needed their support, especially the USHJA Foundation who
helped defray her medical expenses.
“Horses keep me young, they keep me healthy,” Devon said.
“I’m in a transitional stage, and recovery is taking all my effort.
I know I want to get back into the open hunters and grand prix
jumpers. I want to teach and train. I am eternally grateful to all
the people who helped me get through what could have been a
life-changing experience. I am truly a walking example of how it
takes a village. Everyone from the surgeons to the therapists to
my friends and clients all said: get better! I’m just doing what I was
told to do.”
About the writer: Sidelines’ Lauren R. Giannini is an award-winning “wordsmith”
specializing in stories and photos about the equestrian world. Crazy about horses her
entire life, she lives in the horse and hunt country of Virginia. Lauren’s motto is “write,
ride - not necessarily in that order!”
Devon back in action at Miraleste LLC at Sea Horse Riding Club,
doing what she loves best, next to riding, of course – teaching.
Shown here: adjusting Greg’s bridle for Linda Swanson.
Photo courtesy of Carrie Silvano
Devon and Cliveden, owned by Georgia Claessens, showing
in Regular Conformation Hunters over fences in 2011 at HITS
Thermal.
Photo by Flying Horse Photography LTD 2011
