Mother's Day: Something Special for Cassidy

 

Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift,

and the strong shall not strengthen his force,

neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow;

And he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself:

Neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

                                                                                    -- Amos 2:14-15

 

I talked to a very special young lady and her very special mom last week for my job as contributing editor of RFD-TV The Magazine. It makes me very happy, on this Mother's Day, to share their story with you. It just goes to show once again that with God, all things are possible:

When Cassidy Miller of Carlsbad, Calif., was born 18 years ago, something was very, very wrong. Doctors didn't even know if she had a brain. Her head was filled with fluid, and she wasn't breathing. They intubated her and rushed her to intensive care.

At three days old, she had to have brain surgery, installing a shunt to drain the fluid. Her skull hadn't closed, so her brain had been compressed down in her sinus cavity. Finally, it started to expand.

Since then, Cassidy has endured many surgeries, was once completely paralyzed on her left side, is blind in her right eye, and has been enrolled in special education classes all through school.

So everybody who knows her story got tears in their eyes, bigtime, last summer when Cassidy competed at the Ford AQHYA World Championship Show in Oklahoma City.

And later this summer, she plans to come back to Worlds, aiming to qualify in halter performance as well as trails, even though her depth perception is a challenge on account of her partial blindness.

 

 

When you talk to this beautiful, gracious and determined young woman, you soon believe it: she'll get there. Cassidy is plenty bright, but she talks rather slowly, and because of various physical health issues, she was unable to play youth soccer or other sports. Through horses, she's not only competing with "normal" kids - she's beating them at horse shows!

It's improbable, it's inspirational, it's a God thing . . . and it's all because of a mother who was determined to find something special for her special child. It all started with the wonders of therapeutic riding.

That's how Cassidy got her start with horses. She loved all things equine right off the bat. Her teachers could see the improvement in her poise, confidence and interaction skills. She transitioned into regular riding instruction, and continued to grow in her horsemanship skills. Now she wants to become an equine veterinary assistant and work with horses all her life.

How did it feel to be in the world championship arena?

Cassidy said, "I was really excited because it was my first time going to Youth Worlds. I was really happy to experience it. It always gives me a positive feeling seeing how other people are doing the same thing I'm doing."

The one with the most joyous tears that day, though, must've been her mom, Kellie Dunn. "I'm just so happy we found her 'thing' that she can go do with able-bodied kids," she said. "Every kid needs something she can be good at."

There's no name for Cassidy's syndrome, no genetic cause, no rhyme or reason. "I was just the one the lightning bolt struck," Kellie said. The early years were a series of little victories and setbacks. But a big one happened when Cassidy was about 6, and her brain shunt became blocked or infected. She woke up one morning paralyzed on her left side. She couldn't even sit up, Ms. Dunn said.

"The doctor recommended she start with therapeutic riding to help with her balance," she said. Ms. Dunn had a lot of trust in the therapeutic trainer, and in time, Cassidy's balance was restored.

Eventually, she came under the tutelage of a regular horse trainer and bought her first horse. The old campaigner helped Cassidy learn the ropes in trail, western riding, horsemanship, showmanship, and they tried western pleasure once or twice. He's now retired.

Now 18, Cassidy is an experienced competitor on the California show circuit, and is riding her new horse, which she took to Worlds last year - Eye L Be Good, a 1992 daughter of Zippos Mr Good Bar and out of Jackie Joann by Two Eyed Jack.

With those bloodlines, Eye L Be Good is an excellent show horse, Cassidy said. "At the beginning, she was kind of hard to get used to because I was so used to my old horse, and she felt so much different," Cassidy said. "We had a lot of problems we had to work out, but now everything is right where it needs to be. We're really doing good.

"She has really smooth lead changes and is a really smooth loper."

She credits the people who gave her a good start with therapeutic riding, and her current riding trainer, Liz Place.

"I couldn't have done this without their support and help," Cassidy said.

And of course, she credits her mom, the one who was determined to find something Cassidy could be good at. That's the power of a Thoroughbred maternal spirit, a definite gift from the Wrangler on high.

 When you've got a God like that, Who gave you a mom like that, then no matter what your special challenges are, you're going to live your life in the winner's circle. Yee haw! †