I Will Ride Again!

We are reviving the popular "Tales of Triumph" series that debuted back in November, which shared the tales of five horses who, in their own way, triumphed against all odds. Over the next few months we will be sharing the tales of some special guests who, like those five horses, triumphed against all odds as well. They're excited to meet fans and share their stories at BreyerFest!

The stories of our incredible special guests, Limited Edition portrait horses, and Celebration Horse and rider, Amanda and Athena, are at the heart of this year’s event. Their victories have inspired us to celebrate our own triumphs over adversity, not let them limit us. Through written word, art, music, and other creative outlets, BreyerFest: Against All Odds empowers us all to dream big, redefine ourselves, or start a new chapter. Bound by our love of horses and creative expression, we celebrate the perseverance of our community and revel in the thrill of a new beginning.

Jennifer Crawford was five years old when her mother signed her up for riding lessons, unaware that horses would change the course of Jenn’s life. She began to learn dressage—a challenging discipline for a tiny, determined young equestrian. By the age of ten, Jenn added riding hunters and jumpers to her growing list of accomplishments. While other riders were disinterested in riding difficult, spirited, high- energy horses, Jennifer found them “exhilarating.” She rode as many as she could, believing that there was a special equine partner waiting for her.

One day she met a skinny gelding, standing alone in a stall with his head hung low. His sad expression made Jennifer come back, day after day, to stand at his stall door. She asked a lot of questions, and pieced together the horse’s story. The gelding was abandoned. No one looked after him or even came to see him. No one was feeding him. No one cared about him or wanted him. “He’s not the horse I’ve dreamed about,” thought Jennifer, but the decision was easy. She made him her own. Renamed “Bodacious” or “Beau,” the neglected gelding spent the next six months in a large grassy paddock, gaining weight and getting healthy. In the spring of 2018, Jennifer slowly began riding him, reviewing the basics that she found he already knew, before advancing his training and beginning to jump. With Beau’s talents becoming apparent, Jennifer dared to dream that the once-unwanted gelding might become an eventer.

Then on December 26th, 2018, the equestrian life she had worked to build ended abruptly. The pair was alone in an arena, when without warning, Beau suddenly took one awkward step to the side, Jennifer was caught off balance and slipped from the saddle. As falls go, this was not one with a lot of force behind it. Jenn landed in a sitting position, her body upright and both legs straight out on the ground in front of her. A tingle began in her lower back and travelled along her legs to the tips of her toes. When that sensation faded, Jenn’s legs would not move.

Alone with Beau, Jenn realized she needed help, fast. Her phone was out of reach, left on a jump so it wouldn’t bother her while riding. She began calling out, over and over again, desperate for someone to hear. When at last someone did and help began to arrive, Jenn realized that Beau stood beside her, clearly confused but refusing to leave her. When finally the ambulance carried her out of the arena to the waiting helicopter, Jennifer mercifully lost consciousness. At the Trauma Centre, she awoke to see familiar faces above her, each one lined with worry. She struggled through a haze of painkillers to hear the authority of a doctor’s voice: "...badly fractured lumbar spine...urgent surgery...so sorry to say...her chances of walking again are minimal...wheelchair for life." Those words echoed again and again in her mind until Jennifer reduced them into a single thought. It squeezed her heart. “I will never ride again.”

The surgery successfully stabilized her back. That was the goal, Jennifer knew. She faced a long road of recovery and rehabilitation not really knowing what her altered life would be like. Hospital staff were preparing her to live with a wheelchair. As she grew stronger, Jenn quietly disagreed. She planned to walk through the front doors on the day she was discharged home. She faced a program of tough physical and mental training that would shape her new reality. Spinal cord rehabilitation was work and sweat and more work.

As she pushed herself to get stronger, Jennifer called upon every lesson she had learned from her start in the disciplined dressage barn. She also began setting achievable goals. Jennifer started meeting those goals with regularity. Each was celebrated briefly as Jennifer returned to work on the next. She was increasingly focused on the milestones that meant the most, because she believed that she would defy the odds. Jennifer was more and more determined to walk out of the hospital, no wheelchair required. She used forearm crutches, mostly for balance, but Jennifer walked through those front doors to a waiting car. She immediately insisted on going to see Beau right away. Going home to celebrate and rest could wait. On the way to his barn, Jennifer allowed herself to believe that she was ready to start a new equestrian life—a life that needed the biggest dream in her heart to come true—riding Beau again.

Jennifer began to develop practical ways to make equestrian life easier to accomplish. Six months passed before Jennifer felt that her preparations were complete. She set aside her forearm crutches and pulled on her riding boots. After so many months of grueling physical therapy, she was more than strong enough to put herself back into the saddle. Beau was a gentleman and seemed to understand what Jenn needed. They only walked and trotted for the next year.

When Jennifer finally felt confident enough to canter Beau, she was also secretly planning new goals. Jenn placed her ambition to jump on hold while she and Beau spent the summer of 2022 working in dressage, a return to Jennifer’s riding roots that refreshed and strengthened their foundational work on the flat. Their success expanded from practice arena to dressage show ring, where the pair proved just how far they had come with impressive results. In the fall of 2022, Jennifer and Beau were learning how to work together over fences. They competed in a 2022-2023 winter jumper series of shows—in the ribbons—and flowing into summer, Jennifer’s jumping wishes came true.

She and Beau competed throughout the 2023 Angelstone summer series of shows, improving their performances every week, and culminating in the series finale where they flew over a twisting course, clear, and split seconds behind the leaders and well up on the field of more than 70 entries. Jenn’s grin told their story, but she added a fist high into the air as she and Beau exited the ring. Courage and determination lead to the sort of triumph that lives only in the heart. Beau and Jennifer continue to fine-tune their partnership.

They are preparing to return to competition in the 2024 Angelstone summer series, with their eyes set on moving up in the jumper division. Jennifer is also expanding her influence in equestrian communities. In the spring of 2023, she started her organization "Equestrian for Everyone," which brings para riders and their able-bodied counterparts into the same ring, sharing their knowledge and learning together—working with similarities instead of differences. The first event, a Para Equestrian/Able Equestrian Dressage Clinic in early summer 2023, was a resounding success. It was an innovative, first of its kind event, bringing together North American riders from Olympic level to excited teens with dreams. The next Equestrian for Everyone event is a Para Showjumping Clinic in March 2024.

Catch this inspiring pair in the Covered Arena daily or back at the barn to hear more about their incredible story!