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Two horse race riders hurt, their horses killed, in collision with vehicle
By Laura Bauer/The Kansas City Star, Mo. (MCT)
Organizers of an 800-mile horse race that finishes in Gardner this weekend are investigating an accident Tuesday that killed two horses and injured two riders.
The collision came on the ninth day of the 13-day race that began in Santa Fe, N.M., and snakes through parts of the Midwest before ending Saturday.
The two riders, a woman from southwest Missouri and one from Oklahoma, were airlifted to a Wichita hospital, where they were recovering Wednesday.
"It's made everybody sad for what's happened," said Rob Phillips, organizer of The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race. "No one is happy that it happened. ... But right now this event is going on, and it's going to happen next year, too. This event is helping rural America tremendously."
Riders had a scheduled day off Wednesday and were expected back on the trail this morning.
On Tuesday, the two leaders of the day were finishing the race just before 2 p.m. when they collided with a car traveling down a blacktop road south of Canton, Kan.
Jim Johnston, McPherson County undersheriff, said the two riders had passed the finish line about a half-mile back and kept riding.
"I don't know exactly what happened, if they got caught up in the excitement and just kept going or what happened," Johnston said Wednesday. "But when they got to the road, there just happened to be a car there at that exact time."
Rider Teresa Wilcox, 41, of Chadwick, Mo., disagrees that she and rider Sandy Olsen of Edmond, Okla., were a half-mile past the finish line. From her Wichita hospital room, Wilcox said she did not remember seeing a finish line.
"We weren't sure where the finish line was," said Wilcox, who had already won two days' races in this year's ride. "We assumed it was right there."
At one point, as the horses -- Mr Valentine and Foxfire -- were still running, she saw the Buick coming. But it was too late to stop the horses.
Both horses died instantly. The Buick's driver was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
"It was like hitting a dad gum brick wall," Wilcox said of her horse slamming into the Buick and her flying off and landing in the grassy shoulder. "I thought my whole insides were busted up. I remember saying, 'Why didn't they stop the cars?' "
Phillips, though, said the finish line was clearly marked about a half-mile back from where the crash occurred. Someone was there clocking times, he said.
"We take it as a very serious incident," Phillips said. "An eyewitness we've talked to paints a different story. But we don't need to comment until the investigation is over."
Wilcox's focus is on her horse and the race. She said she was told a farmer offered to bury the horses.
"Mister was an excellent horse. His trot was getting stronger," said Wilcox, whose team is raising money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield. "He was getting bolder."
Wilcox was scheduled to be released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and planned to go back to the race village Wednesday night. She wanted to continue the ride -- though she didn't know whether she would race on another of her team's horses -- if her health allowed.
"My body, my mind still wants to race. I still want to finish," she said. "Even though I may not be in contention, I still want to be there."
To reach Laura Bauer, call 816-234-7743 or send e-mail to lbauer@kcstar.com.
To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Kansas City Star, Mo.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Subscribe To Lake AlertsThe collision came on the ninth day of the 13-day race that began in Santa Fe, N.M., and snakes through parts of the Midwest before ending Saturday.
The two riders, a woman from southwest Missouri and one from Oklahoma, were airlifted to a Wichita hospital, where they were recovering Wednesday.
"It's made everybody sad for what's happened," said Rob Phillips, organizer of The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race. "No one is happy that it happened. ... But right now this event is going on, and it's going to happen next year, too. This event is helping rural America tremendously."
Riders had a scheduled day off Wednesday and were expected back on the trail this morning.
On Tuesday, the two leaders of the day were finishing the race just before 2 p.m. when they collided with a car traveling down a blacktop road south of Canton, Kan.
Jim Johnston, McPherson County undersheriff, said the two riders had passed the finish line about a half-mile back and kept riding.
"I don't know exactly what happened, if they got caught up in the excitement and just kept going or what happened," Johnston said Wednesday. "But when they got to the road, there just happened to be a car there at that exact time."
Rider Teresa Wilcox, 41, of Chadwick, Mo., disagrees that she and rider Sandy Olsen of Edmond, Okla., were a half-mile past the finish line. From her Wichita hospital room, Wilcox said she did not remember seeing a finish line.
"We weren't sure where the finish line was," said Wilcox, who had already won two days' races in this year's ride. "We assumed it was right there."
At one point, as the horses -- Mr Valentine and Foxfire -- were still running, she saw the Buick coming. But it was too late to stop the horses.
Both horses died instantly. The Buick's driver was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
"It was like hitting a dad gum brick wall," Wilcox said of her horse slamming into the Buick and her flying off and landing in the grassy shoulder. "I thought my whole insides were busted up. I remember saying, 'Why didn't they stop the cars?' "
Phillips, though, said the finish line was clearly marked about a half-mile back from where the crash occurred. Someone was there clocking times, he said.
"We take it as a very serious incident," Phillips said. "An eyewitness we've talked to paints a different story. But we don't need to comment until the investigation is over."
Wilcox's focus is on her horse and the race. She said she was told a farmer offered to bury the horses.
"Mister was an excellent horse. His trot was getting stronger," said Wilcox, whose team is raising money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield. "He was getting bolder."
Wilcox was scheduled to be released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and planned to go back to the race village Wednesday night. She wanted to continue the ride -- though she didn't know whether she would race on another of her team's horses -- if her health allowed.
"My body, my mind still wants to race. I still want to finish," she said. "Even though I may not be in contention, I still want to be there."
To reach Laura Bauer, call 816-234-7743 or send e-mail to lbauer@kcstar.com.
To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Kansas City Star, Mo.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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