SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
0
Wednesday, January 13 2016 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Taje Warrick’s Miraculous Life

By Mary McCashin

Taje Warrick Photo by Wally Warrick

Taje Warrick
Photo by Wally Warrick

Tick…tick…tick…

On August 27, 2014, Wally, Kim and Taje Warrick anxiously sat in a sterile neurosurgeon’s office. Taje, 10 years old at the time, had recently undergone an unexpected MRI the day before. Taje’s ophthalmologist had noticed an inconsistency during an eye exam a few days prior and immediately ordered the MRI. Tensions were high, there were questions lacking answers, and patiently the Warricks had to wait. “I knew something was wrong,” said Kim Warrick. “They sent us home from the MRI and said we needed to see our family doctor the next day, no excuses.”

Tick…tick…tick…

Taje’s mom Kim slowly began to weep, having tried to shield her emotions from her daughter as long as she could. “I was trying to be so strong for her,” Kim said. “She was sitting in my lap and looked back over shoulder at me and I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.” The doctor entered, took a seat, and slowly began to explain the MRI’s shocking results.

“They’ve found a tumor on Taje’s brain, or an arachnoid cyst,” the doctor said. It was 8 centimeters by 6 centimeters by 4 centimeters. It’s taken up the whole right frontal lobe of her brain.  She needed to have a craniotomy immediately to remove the tumor and relieve the pressure on her brain.

Boom.

Taje and Drommels captured the Low Children’s Championship at WEF. From left to right: Gustavo Murcia, Taje, trainer Maggie Gould and groom Leo. Photo by SportFot

Taje and Drommels captured the Low Children’s Championship at WEF. From left to right: Gustavo Murcia, Taje, trainer Maggie Gould and groom Leo.
Photo by SportFot

Shell-shocked from the news, the Warricks shuffled home and began to accept what lay ahead in their life. Taje would have to stop competing in the Low Children’s Jumpers immediately, and would be unable to ride for months, or even a year, following her surgery. Trainers, teachers and friends were informed of the dangerous surgery she’d face in just one week. Horses were placed in training, school arrangements made and the family braced for what lay ahead.

It also came to light that Taje had suffered one — if not a series — of strokes prior to her MRI. “I remember one night she was in the shower and she just started screaming bloody murder that she couldn’t see me,” Kim said. “I told her I was right there, and not to worry. As quickly as she’d started screaming, she stopped. It worried me so that’s when we started seeing doctors to see what had caused it.”

From cardiologists to neurologists, Wally and Kim searched for answers. Their beautiful daughter, full of life and passion, kept on riding, oblivious to her parents’ concerns. But finally, they’d found an answer.

So on September 2, 2014, Taje underwent her craniotomy. “I wasn’t really scared until they started to wheel me down the hall and I saw how scared my mom was,” remembered Taje.

Kim added, “I was trying so hard to be positive and kept telling her to give me a thumbs up. She was already getting sleepy so she couldn’t life her arm, so she just made a little thumbs up with her hand.”

Miraculously, Taje made it through the surgery without a single complication. At 11, she now has metal plates on her skull, and doctors feel she should go on to live a normal and full life, which is exactly what Taje has done.

Taje and Drommels at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. Photo by SportFot

Taje and Drommels at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida.
Photo by SportFot

Within two months, Taje was given the all-clear to ride again.  Kim said, “I might have been more nervous for that than the surgery! I went to the far end of the arena so I could be all by myself and just watch from a distance.”

No one was happier about the first ride back than Taje. “I just wanted to ride my ponies!” she said. “I was scared, but as soon as I got on, I felt fine.” One successful ride back was all it took to relight the passion Taje had for horses and competing.

In just a few months time, she was back competing on her two horses, 7-year-old Drommels and 16-year old Mufasa. Taje also has two young horses in training to become her future jumping mounts. She’s actively competing in the High Children’s Jumpers and has been successful at the Kentucky Horse Park, Great Lakes Horse Show, ESP in Wellington, Florida, as well as the 2014–2015 Winter Equestrian Festival in Low Children’s.

Taje and Drommels in Kentucky competing in the High Children's. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography

Taje and Drommels in Kentucky competing in the High Children’s.
Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography

Despite the doctors, the surgeries and the additional cranial hardware, Taje has remained her happy, energetic self. “If anything,” said Kim, “she’s become increasingly focused. The second she rides into the arena, she’s a little adult. She’s focused on her horse, her course and competing. The second she comes out of the arena, she’s 11 again and jumping over schooling standards with her friends.”

Taje has plans of jumping Grand Prix courses and going to the Olympics, something her parents can only encourage. She knows she’s not like other kids, but it’s not something she dwells on. When asked if she knew she was brave, she replied with a prompt, “Yes.”

Taje’s tenacity and devotion to her horses is something to be admired, not only by her peers, but by adults and professionals as well. Despite the past year of her life and an upcoming MRI to check the healing process, she remains the same kid she was before, no demands or special treatment, and the word “can’t” has never left her mouth. The drive she possesses is the kind that takes equestrians places with their careers. The passion to travel and pursue her greatest accomplishments with her family at her back is all Taje cares about, and it’s an attitude that people should definitely take note of.

About the writer: Mary McCashin is a freelance writer from Mocksville, North Carolina. She released her book, “Bulls, Broncs, & Buckles” in June 2015. Her pride and joy is her New Forest Pony, Will. 

Share this page:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
Tagged under: brain tumor, childrens jumpers, drommels, mary mccashin, mufasa, taje warrick

What you can read next

Marsha Hartford-Sapp: Training an Unadoptable Horse Named Cobra – The Amazing Story of a Wild Mustang Who Won Multiple Horse of the Year Awards and…
Eleese Shillingford: Enjoying Every Moment of the Ride
Breeding Welsh Ponies at Fox Run Farm

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
Unbridled with Joe Norick! 🐎 Joe Norick stays Unbridled with Joe Norick! 🐎 Joe Norick stays busy with not one but two full-time jobs with companies that span the nation. The first is as a senior vice president for equine, farm and ranch clients with Alliant in West Palm Beach; the second, which he took on in October of 2022, is as the chief customer officer for HITS Shows. But Joe doesn’t care about titles. “I more consider myself the architect of what we’re creating here in the new HITS,” he said. Along with CEO Peter Englehart, Joe oversees all HITS Shows across the country—which is why he says lately it feels as though his home base has been American Airlines, traveling to each of the six unique HITS venues. “I love the fact that in Ocala we have so many beautiful paddocks, and over 500 acres that you can ride on and the horse can be a horse, and a horseman can be a horseman,” Joe said. “I love the beauty and charm that we have at our Chicago facility. I love the family aspect of Vermont. I love the high level of competition we have at both Del Mar and Saugerties, which we now call HITS Hudson Valley because of the amazing Hudson Valley. I love the tradition that we have in Virginia at our Culpepper facility. They all have something special.” Get to know Joe in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine! and never miss an unbridled by subscribing for just $14.95 A YEAR! Link in bio! 📸Photo by ESI
Growing up, Zayna Rizvi put fashion ahead of funct Growing up, Zayna Rizvi put fashion ahead of function when it came to her riding attire. “I would only ride my first pony, Buttons, in a princess outfit. I refused to wear regular riding clothes and only wanted to ride in my tutu,” she said. The 2021 Maclay Finals winner has since shed her tutu and these days can be found sporting breeches and boots as she tackles the jumper ring in the High Juniors, U25 series, the FEI classes in the two-star and three-star divisions and occasionally makes her way back into some equitation classes. Immersed in the equestrian life from the start, Zayna can be found, if she isn’t doing schoolwork, in the barn trying to refine her riding as she aims to move up the ranks in international competitions. To read more about Zayna head on over to our website. Link in bio! 📸Portraits by Melissa Fuller
Check out Biostar US for innovative supplements to Check out Biostar US for innovative supplements to support your horse’s gut health! With specific plants found in old English hedgerows, Hedgerow GI supports GI tract homeostasis, microbes, immune cells, metabolites, and the tight junctions of the gut. This exclusive blend provides dimensional support for gut homeostasis. ⏩Link: https://www.biostarus.com/products/hedgerow-gi #biostarus #wholefoodforhorses #horses #equestrians #horsecare #equinehealth #hedgerowgi #hedgerows #horseguthealth #horsesupplements
Olivia Williams, who started her riding career in Olivia Williams, who started her riding career in a town with a population of less than 200 people, has now competed at some of the top equestrian destinations all over the country. A sophomore in college, she grew up in San Francisco where she spent the majority of her career riding with Holly and Elizabeth “Lumpy” Kilham at Kilham farms in Nicasio, California. She competed up and down the West Coast, showing everywhere from Desert International Horse Park to the Silicon Valley Equestrian Festival. While living in San Francisco, she got the ride on Irocco Blue S, barn name Rocco. Little did she know at the time that she and the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood would travel the country together. Olivia and Rocco’s partnership has grown over the years, and she said that no matter where her career takes her, she can’t envision going into the ring without him. When they first met, Rocco and Olivia were both a little green and still learning the ropes of the 1.40m classes.But just a few years after Olivia starting riding Rocco, they now boast an impressive resume together, including competing in the North American Youth Championships (NAYC) and finishing 10th in the Prix des States. At the NAYC, Olivia’s team finished with a bronze medal, and she finished in sixth place individually. After the championships, Olivia had a lot of decisions to make. She graduated from high school in 2022 and had to decide between two very different life paths: a career in horses or a college education. She managed to find a path that has worked for her throughout her freshman year. While she moved away from home to go to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Rocco moved to Florida to live with Andrew and Alex Welles. Every other week, Olivia flies to Florida to compete her horse. Dying to read more??? Head on over to our website. Link in bio! 📸Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com #Sidelines #sidelines2023 #sidelinesmagazine #magazine #forhorsepeople #abouthorsepeople
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • MIAMI INTERNATIONAL RIDING CLUB
    Celia & Dani Bunge Hunter/Jumper/Equitation Boarding/Lessons/Showing 305-775-9155/305-753-2481 celia.bunge@mirc-horses.com www.mirc-horses.com

    [Read more]

  • SALLY EDELMAN SLATER

    Specializing in Luxury & Equestrian Properties

    Servicing Westchester, Duchess and Putnam Counties in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut Douglas Elliman Real Estate 914-584-0137/sally.slater@elliman.com www.elliman.com/newyork/associate/612-a-563-w2295/sally-slater

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Woodside Recognizes the Best in the West
  • Get More for Your Money with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
  • Longines Global Champions Tour of New York Returns to Governors Island

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Conor Swail Was the Best Bet in $15,000 CSI2* Markel Insurance Welcome at San Juan Capistrano International
  • Lillie Keenan Leads in CHF68,000 South Coast Plaza Welcome Speed at San Juan Capistrano International CSIO5*
  • McLain Ward Wins CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix at San Juan Capistrano International

Category

Recent Posts

  • Zayna Rizvi: Horses from Family to Finals

    By Laura Scaletti Portraits by Melissa Fuller &...
  • Samantha Wolfram: Finding Success in America and Overseas

    By Juliana Chapman Portraits by Kirsten Hannah ...
  • Cedar Potts-Warner: At Liberty and Beyond

    Story and Portraits by Jennifer DeMaro   P...
  • Jordan Melfi: Turning a Secret Horse Life Into a Career

    By Veronica Green-Gott Portraits by Shelly Cart...
  • Olivia Williams: From University of Notre Dame to European Dreamin’

    By Veronica Green-Gott Portraits by Melissa Ful...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!