My Comeback Story
I was born into the horse world where my mom, Judy Garfield, was
a trainer in Westport, Connecticut at Nimrod Farms owned by Ronnie
Munch, and where I learned to ride at the age of three. We later
moved to Woodstock, Vermont where my mom got a training position
at a small horse farm. My father, Lee Garfield, ran my grandfather’s
advertising agency Hirshon-
Garfield in New York City,
and returned on weekends
to be part of our horseshow life.
I competed at the Green Mountain
Horse Association (GMHA)
in South Woodstock, Vermont
(currently run by Denny
Emerson) and rode with the
Upper Valley Pony Club. My
first full horse trial was at the
age of eight at the GMHA. I
had a promising riding career
as an eventer and show jumper.
Rachael at the Carolina Horse Park
Nine months after the accident.
However... At age 12, Julia was such a strong rider with so much natural
my riding career came to an abrupt halt when I had a serious
fall in the cross-country phase of the horse trial, and my
horse nearly died. I realized I had put my horse in harm’s
way by pushing him too hard that boiling hot day- the
horse of my heart, the horse whom I loved and who got me
through my childhood. I carried much guilt after that event
and retired from a great riding career at 16. Something I
regret doing to this day.
To deal with the loss of my riding career, I began focusing
on painting (my other passion). I had planned to go to
Parson’s school of design in New York City to study art, but
instead went to college at Colby-Sawyer in New London,
New Hampshire and studied arts management. I also studied
art and art history on a gap year in Cannes, France, as
well as in Paris.
Time passed and I had two amazing daughters. Charlotte
is worldly and artistic, and we share a love of painting.
I taught her to paint at the age of three. My youngest
daughter, Julia, has a passion for horses, just as I do and just
as my mother before me.
Seeing Julia’s passion for horses stirred up my deeply buried
feelings of childhood. I could no longer avoid facing the
grief associated with the loss of my riding career. And so,
my daughter and I started riding together. We both rode
the most challenging horses because that was all we had
access to ride.
talent. I wanted so much to fulfill her biggest dream and
buy her a horse. That was not a realistic possibility until an
opportunity came up to work with a young horse who belonged
to the barn owner’s friend. I saw this as my chance
to give my daughter her dream and planned to get a stall
for the horse in that same barn.
On January 7, 2015, I was riding the young horse on an
especially cold day. The ground was frozen and the instant
I mounted, the horse bolted and began bucking before I
had even gotten my feet into the stirrups. I was thrown into
the air and slammed down onto my back on the frozen
ground.
I lay staring at the sky, thanking God I was alive, but I knew
I was seriously injured. My sweet 12-year old daughter ran
to get my phone and catch the horse that had run off. She
managed to lovingly place a horse blanket over me and
simultaneously direct EMS to the remote North Carolina
horse pasture.
It turned out I broke my back- a compression fracture of
my thoracic spine (T12), as well as a broken sacrum (S2 and
S3), herniated lumbar spine in two places, and an injured
right hand requiring surgery.
36 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com
Julia and Charm
Right after the accident
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