THE ISLAND 22 EQUESTRIAN PARK

By Eric Welsh - Chilliwack Progress

Published: September 17, 2010 8:00 AM Tara is a miracle.

Twenty years ago, she came into the world in just about the worst possible way.

Born three months premature and weighing just one pound, the expectation was that she wouldn’t live much longer than 48 hours.

Having bucked the odds for three days, Tara experienced a grade-four hemorrhage as the right side of her brain was squished against the back of her skull.

Cerebral fluid occupied the place where her brain should have been.

Again, Tara faced slim odds as doctor’s gave her a two per cent chance of survival.

Think about that for a second.

Think about how slim the odds were for this little child, lying in an incubator hooked up to various wires and tubes. Put 100 babies in that situation, and statistically, two would live.

Consider the plight of her parents as Tara’s doctor suggested they take their newborn daughter off of life support.

How on Earth could you possibly make that decision? How could you not be haunted by it for the rest of your life?

Acceding to the doctor’s decision was, technically, the easy way out.

Let this little life go and it’s quickly done with.

Painful.

Yes.

But then it would be over and they could get past it and get on with their lives.

It must have been tempting, particularly when they were presented with the alternative.

If this little girl somehow managed to defy the odds and make it through those frightening first days, then the uphill climb would just be beginning.

Tara would face physical and mental challenges, and she would forever be at high risk for myriad problems. Her life, and the life of her parents would never be easy.

Would you walk away?

They didn’t.

“Our attitude was that, for some reason this had happened and we would deal with whatever the consequences were,” her mom, Denise explained.

Tara survive those harrowing first three days, and then that first week, and then that first month.

All of a sudden, this little miracle was celebrating her first birthday.

Slowly but surely she grew stronger, until survival was no longer a touch-and-go matter. She started to develop a personality — she was tenacious, intelligent, inquisitive.

“When she was little, she didn’t recognize she had a right side to her body,” Denise said of the ongoing battle they faced to help their little girl. “We had to teach her that her right side existed.”

Tara had a Ventriculoperitoneal shunt put into her head to help drain excess cerebral fluid, and that shunt broke down frequently. All too often, Tara’s parents sat outside an operating room as doctors poked around in their daughter’s head.

“There were times when she would go in for an operation, and we would sit outside the operating room fearful, praying that everything’s going to work,” Denise said.

Denise first put Tara on the back of a horse when she was two years old.

It was a Tennessee walking horse, and Tara identifies that as the moment when her love of horses began. When she was four years old, she started therapeutic riding. Tara had an aptitude for it, and eventually graduated to competitive riding, competing in para-equestrian events.

“They don’t judge me and they don’t see my wheelchair,” Tara said. “People see the chair first and not the person. They’re hesitant to talk to me. But horses don’t care if you have a disability.”

As a grade 1-A rider in para-equestrian, Tara rides three tests; individual, team and freestyle.

The designations of 1-A through 1-4 identify the level of disability, with Tara’s level being the highest.

While Tara would say it’s easy to do what she does, it is most definitely not.

She experiences significant weakness on the right side of her body, which leads to issues with balance. Some days, it’s challenging just staying on her horse.

But once she’s up there, what Tara experiences is a feeling of freedom. It is an escape from the wheelchair that she is otherwise confined to day and night, and she struggles to articulate the experience of trading in metal and plastic for a 1,000 pound living, breathing animal.

“I used to put my friends in my wheelchair for just an hour, and they would be like, ‘How do you do it?’ Tara said. “It drove them nuts. So for me, getting out of that wheelchair and onto a horse is an amazing feeling. I would be on a horse 24/7 if I could.”

Her horse is M J Fatal Atracson. She’s known as Fate, and Tara felt a deep connection the first time she laid eyes on this mild-mannered mare eight months ago.

“Fate and I were soul-sisters from the start, and when we click, it’s like we’re one out there,” Tara explained. “Most riders say it takes a year to get that rider-horse connection, but it really was instant with us.”

In less than two weeks, Tara and Fate test that connection as they tackle the challenge of a lifetime, travelling to the World Para-Equestrian Games, being held Sept. 25 to Oct. 10 in Lexington, Kentucky.

The event represents a dream come true for the 20-year-old Greendale native.

Seven years ago Tara met Canadian national rider Lauren Barwick, and from that moment on she was intent on qualifying for these games.

She’s had plenty of help along the way. Doctor Philippa and Rachael Keegan of Calgary own Fate and are solidly in her corner. Tara trains at White Dove Stables in Chilliwack (owned by Val Jackson), guided by her coach and mentor Tom Berry.

Jackson and Berry have been particularly instrumental in helping Tara achieve her dream.

With this stellar support system, and the faith Equine Canada has shown in her, Tara feels good about her chances.

Drawing a parallel to figure skating, Tara and Fate will go through their three tests, performing a number of compulsory movements; eight and 10 metre circles, serpentines, free walks and figure-eights.

Scores are based on how accurate they are in the completion of the movements, and a judge’s perception of how smooth Tara and Fate look as they go through their routine.

Tara hopes for a first place finish, but knows the competition will be insanely tough. The experience will be the key, and she can rest easy knowing that, win or lose, people who love her will be cheering her on.

“I thank God every day that we made the decision to not pull her off life support, and there are times when I think about parents who are in the same position I was 20 years ago,” Denise said. “I wish they could see Tara, and know that sometimes when you take that two per cent chance, things aren’t as bad as the statistics tell you.”

— Tara is hosting a fundraiser event tonight at 7 p.m. at Characters Pub in Chilliwack.

For $10, attendees get their choice of four different dinners along with a beverage.

There will be a 50/50 draw, silent auction and live band.

If you can’t attend the fundraiser, Tara has a bank account set up at the Bank of Montreal, under Dreams to Reality.

The trip will cost in the neighborhood of $5,000. Get more information from Denise at 604-803-8507.