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Back in the Saddle
ED RUNYAN
runyan@vindy.com
BAZETTA
Elaine Kelley of Cortland had just enough time to walk from the Heritage Stage at the Trumbull County Fair to the main horse arena.
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Elaine Kelley, 17, of Cortland, stands with one of her two horses, Padamay, with whom she will compete in Columbus July 30 in contesting events. Five weeks ago, another horse, Rebel, fell on her, injuring her face, shoulder, arms and legs, but she decided to compete anyway in her horse riding events two weeks ago and the Miss Trumbull County Fair contest June 28, finishing second in the queen contest and qualifying for a horse riding contest in Columbus.
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Elaine's aunt found her in a large puddle of blood unconscious and rushed her to a Warren hospital. She received reconstructive facial surgery the next day.
She and her horse, Padamay, were being recognized for advancing to the “contesting” competition at the Ohio State Fair on July 30.
Making things more difficult was that Kelley, runner-up in the Miss Trumbull County Fair contest, was in a silky top, skirt and high heels. She’d just participated in the fair’s opening ceremonies, and the walk to the arena involved lots of gravel and mud.
Kelley’s preference would have been to change into blue jeans. But the situation required her to make the best of things, so she pulled on cowboy boots, took Padamay’s reins and proceeded to the introduction area — part cowgirl and part runway model.
Kelley took the whole thing in stride — something she’s become good at lately — after a bloody accident five weeks ago when a horse fell on her, causing her to suffer serious facial, shoulder, leg and arm injuries.
“I thought she was dead,” said Kelley’s aunt, Dawn Durica of Farmington Township, referring to the moment she walked to the horse paddock at her home May 27 and saw Kelley on the ground, motionless, a 10-inch puddle of blood under her head, a cat sitting on her arm.
Seven dogs had formed a circle around the girl, and a pony was standing nose-to-nose with Rebel, the horse that had injured Kelley, blocking Rebel from getting close. Rebel is another horse Kelley rides competitively.
Durica has no way of knowing how long Kelley was down but estimates it could have been 20 minutes based on the blood loss.
Durica rushed her niece, who regained consciousness but couldn’t open one eye, to a Warren hospital, not wanting to wait for an ambulance.
The damage was extensive, especially to Kelley’s face: broken nose and cheek bone, cuts and bruises on her arms and legs and damage to a shoulder.
Kelley doesn’t know what caused the horse to spook because she lost all memory of that evening and also of what she did in school earlier that day, she said.
A day later, she saw Dr. John Neary of Hudson, a plastic surgeon, who discovered an injury to her right eye socket that was allowing fatty tissue to leak out, raising concerns about whether Kelley would lose the eye or have permanent disfigurement, said her mother, Judi Kelley.
Elaine, 17, a junior at Lakeview High School, missed the remainder of the school year as she recovered from the accident.
A horse enthusiast and 4-H member since age 8, Elaine had made plans to compete in the Miss Trumbull County Fair contest for a second time this June before the accident, but the mishap left her unsure whether she would be ready by the contest date, which was Monday night.
“I didn’t think I was going to do it once I had the accident. I didn’t know how I was going to look,” she said Tuesday.
Despite the bruises, she went ahead with the contest and even talked about the accident during the interview portion, telling the judges the experience taught her a lot about overcoming adversity.
“I can honestly say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” she told the judges.
“I still don’t think my nose looks normal, and my cheek is swollen. Makeup can do a whole lot,” she said while still holding Padamay’s reins in the horse arena.
Competing two weeks ago in the “contesting” event at the fairgrounds was also a challenge, she said, because her shoulder was still giving her problems.
She rode Padamay through the poles and barrels of the timed rodeo-type event with just one arm and tried to use her lower body more than usual to direct the horse.
“She basically did everything,” Elaine said of Padamay. “She made up for everything I couldn’t do. I just shifted my weight.”
Elaine still doesn’t know if she’ll be 100 percent by state fair time, but she’s ready to make the best of it.
“I’ve worked two years to get [Padamay] where I wanted,” she said. “I definitely wasn’t going to miss the county fair and state fair.”
TODAY
8 a.m., Admission Gate C opens
9 a.m., Junior Fair goat showmanship, dairy cloverbud show; open-class dairy cattle show; open-class dairy goat show
9:30 a.m., Junior Fair dairy show
10 a.m., Open-class draft horse halter judging; Junior Fair rabbit showmanship
Noon, Horseman/horsewoman
1 p.m., Junior Fair dog show
1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Rides open
4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Jordan Biel & Band, followed by the Junior Fair Trumbull Idol Finalist Competition
5 p.m., Junior Fair Versatility horse show
7 p.m., Truck pulls: 4x4’s and semi trucks by Full Pull Productions
7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Del Sinchak Band
6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Rides open
10 p.m., Gates close
Saturday
8 a.m., Admission Gate C opens
9 a.m., Junior Fair contest horse show
10 a.m., Drive-in open-class draft horse & pony; half linger hitch show
10:30 a.m., Junior Fair Livestock sale
1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Phillips Brothers band
1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Rides open
2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Singer Melanie May
6 p.m., Truck & tractor pull by Full Pull Productions
6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Rides open
7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Shake Down band
8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Burkley band
10 p.m., gates
Sunday
8 a.m,. Admission Gate C opens
9 a.m., Junior Fair horse show; free-style, stick-horse & dressage fun show
Noon, Parade of Colors, grand march with costume class
1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Rides open
2 p.m., Cow milking contest
2 to 4 p.m., Country Way band
2:30 p.m., Dress a Kow Contest
3 p.m, Peewee dairy showmanship
6 p.m., Demolition derby
6 to 9 p.m., Rides open
7 to 9 p.m., David Allen & The Roadwork Band
8 p.m., Gates close
10 p.m., (approximately), Fireworks