By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
At age 24, Marie Vonderheyden was living the professional equestrian life of her dreams in Wellington, Florida. On February 20, 2015, that dream turned into a nightmare. As Marie was cooling down her horse, she fell off and sustained severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI). While her life changed in an instant, one thing remained the same—her love for horses.
Born into an equestrian family, Marie happily followed along in the family tradition. “My mom was a riding instructor, so I started with horses at a young age. My great-grandmother was a horse breeder in Germany and both my great-grandfathers were 
skilled riders in Hungary,” Marie said.
Marie moved, with her French parents, from Washington, D.C., to Bordeaux, France, when she was 3 years old. It was abroad that Marie became totally immersed in horses. “At first I started with dressage and jumping; however, I fell in love with three-day eventing. Cross-country was a super joy for me; I liked to jump and the speed,” Marie said. “As a teenager I was competing at three-day events nonstop.”
In 2008, at 18 years old, Marie was a French national champion, winning a gold medal as an amateur. “Thanks to that, I was selected to attend the prestigious Saumur National Equestrian School. After my years at Saumur, I earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and started to travel to Germany to learn more from Jessica Kurten and Dirk Schrade,” Marie said. “Working with both of them was a wonderful learning experience.”
Marie got her first professional equestrian job in the States in 2013. “The President of Studbook Selle Français North America hired me in Lexington, Kentucky, to promote and show young Selle Français horses, which was a significant accomplishment, testament to my talent and test of my skills,” Marie said. “I was showing Jean Yves Tola’s young horses. I always knew I wanted to be a professional because I just love to compete!”
February 20
After a year working for Studbook Selle Français North America, Marie moved to Wellington, Florida, to ride professionally for Newstead Farm and Alison Robitaille. The morning of February 20 started like most professional mornings. Marie had a normal ride and was cooling her horse down along the bridle path in Grand Prix Village in Wellington when something apparently spooked Marie’s horse and they both fell down.
Marie doesn’t recall anything that happened that day, but a passerby saw Marie lying on the ground unconscious. They called 911 and Marie was medevacked to St. Mary’s Medical Center. “I fell on my head and was put in an induced coma. I had to undergo multiple brain surgeries to try and save my life; the doctors were not sure I would ever wake up,” Marie said. “Eventually, I did wake up, but I was unable to speak, swallow or move the right side of my body, as it was paralyzed. Also, the majority of my memories were erased.”
After two months in the ICU at St. Mary’s, Marie was transferred to the Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Rehabilitation in Atlanta, Georgia. While in Atlanta, Marie underwent several more surgeries and participated in intensive therapy sessions. She was a patient at the Shepherd Center for one year, then continued as an outpatient doing intensive therapy and added in therapeutic riding for another four years.
“For the first three years after my accident, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what was going on. One day it was suddenly clear to me that something was wrong with my mind and body. I realized that I needed to continue working on speech therapies, music, evaluations, physical therapy and therapeutic riding at Chastain Horse Park to improve my situation,” Marie said. “I realized this was my new life, and everyone was there to support and encourage me.”
Today, Marie must deal with several issues as a result of her TBI. “Unfortunately, seizures are a part of our new reality, and we navigate around how much my brain permits. I have hemiplegia on my right side, tremors (ataxia) mainly on the left, balance issues, struggle to find words (asphasia) and have lost my working memory,” she said. “But I never give up!”
Path to Para Dressage
As soon as Marie had enough strength to stand and put one foot in front of the other, her mother, Cécile, decided it was time for Marie to begin therapeutic riding. Even as hard as rehab can be, Cécile wanted to give Marie a taste of her previous life and reintroduce horses. Thankfully, the Shepherd Center has a Recreation Therapy Program that partners with the Chastian Horse Park to help patients and others with disabilities to improve cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being.
Marie sat on a horse again in February 2016. “My mother thought my memory, both mental and muscle, would be better if I got back in the saddle. Looking back on the photos from that first ride post-accident, I see five people who surrounded me as I rode. I couldn’t hold my back and had no balance,” Marie said. “But I was never fearful about riding again.”
Horses helped Marie take back her life. “I gained more balance and muscles and improved coordination. The horses were very helpful in getting my position back and making progress,” Marie said. “Most importantly, hippotherapy was way more fun than the other therapy sessions.”
In 2019, Marie and Cécile decided to move to Wellington to pursue para dressage. “Right away, after my first show, I decided I wanted to ride in the 2024 Paris Olympics,” Marie said.
Marie made quite the splash as soon as she started pursuing her para dressage goals. Ellie Bremmer, now the U.S. Para-equestrian Association (USPEA) president, allowed Marie to start on her horse, London Swing. Together they worked with Andrea Woodard and represented Team USA.
Marie garnered top 10 finishes at her first CPEDI3* at the 2019 Adequan/USEF Para Dressage National Championships and Tryon Fall 2 FEI CPEDI3*. In 2020, she won team gold at the Wellington CPEDI3*. Marie not only began her para dressage journey in 2019, but she was also nominated for the FEI’s Against All Odds Award, which is given to someone who has pursued their equestrian ambitions despite a physical handicap or extremely difficult personal circumstances.
In a testament to how strong the bond is among para dressage athletes, when London Swing was retired, Beatrice de Lavalette let Marie ride her mare DeeDee at several shows. “I’m so grateful for this new beginning and the immense help from so many caring individuals,” Marie said.
Path to Paris
After beginning her para dressage career with Team USA, Marie decided to join the French para dressage team in 2022. “My success story in three-day eventing happened in France back in 2008 and I wanted to once again ride for the country I grew up in,” she said.
Today, Marie is working with her own 11-year-old Hanoverian Bombastic D Arion. “My family funded this horse to help me meet my goals. We purchased him in 2020 and there has been a lot of work and care done to get him ready and experienced to compete at the paralympic level,” she said. “He has a wonderful walk and an amazing temperament. When I ride, he always waits for my instructions. Now he anticipates and knows his job.”
In January 2024, the duo rode to a trio of personal bests at the 2024 Adequan Global Dressage Championships and was crowned the overall High Point Champions of the week. They’re hoping to take that momentum with them as they vie for a spot on the French Paralympic team later this year.
Marie hopes to inspire others who have struggles with adversity in and out of the saddle. “It’s impossible to improve alone. We have to accept help around us, because otherwise nothing gets done,” she said. “There will be hard moments, but even when it’s hard you have to keep a positive attitude, or you will get depressed.”
She also suggests you set goals to keep moving forward. “Even if you change direction along the way, it’s always important to set goals, always look for them,” Marie said.
Marie’s immediate goal is participating in the 2024 Paralympics and she’s determined to give it her best shot. One way or another, Marie will be in Paris this summer: She was recently selected to be a torch bearer for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Regardless of what happens, Marie’s light shines brightly as she makes the most of her second chance at life.
For more information, visit www.marievdhparadressage.com
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
Riding clothes provided by Dada Sport
