Back on the horse: Teen equestrian rebounds from life-threatening fall
Salter Hydinger makes it look effortless to guide a 1,400-pound horse gracefully around an arena.
Sitting atop Anthem, her 11-year-old bay horse with a white star between his eyes, Salter relies on the light touch of her reins and legs as she rides through the humidity of a still summer morning.
A look of dignified concentration covers her face.
Anthem takes things slowly at first, walking lightly over the sand, then progresses to a trot and eventually to a canter.
The two cap the session after about half an hour by jumping over a series of obstacles.
“This is my place,” said Salter, reclining in a chair after the workout at Anthem’s stable in Leeds. “This is where I spend my time either riding or reflecting.”
Salter, a 17-year-old rising senior at Mountain Brook High School, has had a lot to contemplate since she began training under Tim and Camille Maddrix at M&M Sporthorses two years ago.
In November 2017, she suffered a life-threatening fall during a horse show in Georgia.
She had to be flown by helicopter to an Atlanta hospital, where she spent several days in the intensive care unit.
But that didn’t keep her down.
“The minute I woke up in the ICU, I said, ‘When can I get back on the horse?’” Salter recalled.
The answer came quickly. Within a month, she started to ride again, and within three months, she began to compete again.
Now, more than a year and a half removed from her accident, Salter has staked her claim as one of the country’s top junior equestrians. She is ranked sixth nationally by the U.S. Equestrian Federation in the large junior hunter division for her age group.
“Her resilience and her bravery have been amazing,” said her mother, Dr. Susan Salter-Hydinger said. “She never came to me one time and said, ‘I don’t know if I can do it.’”
SERIOUS FALL
Susan Salter-Hydinger grew up riding horses on her family’s farm in Shelby County, between Montevallo and Alabaster, and knew it was something that she wanted her children to try.
It didn’t take long for her daughter to catch the bug. She began riding ponies at age 6 before transitioning to horses at age 10.
She has ridden ever since.
“I love it,” Salter said. “It’s something in me that just ticks.”
Salter has almost always competed in the hunter division of equestrian. During shows, judges grade competitors primarily upon the fluidity and style of their horses’ movements as they navigate a series of obstacles that are a little more than waist-high.
The goal is grace rather than pace.
“I try to go slow and look pretty and pick the best distance to the jumps,” Salter said. “I have to be perfect.”
But two Novembers ago, she decided to branch out to another competition category — the jumper division — for a couple of shows. Horses who compete in that arena move at a faster speed as they charge over barriers.
Salter’s first show in the new division brought encouragement. Her second brought catastrophe.
During an event in Conyers, which is about 30 miles east of Atlanta, Salter fell off of a horse that she was test-riding when it crashed into a barrier. The force of the fall caused her to seize and left her unconscious for about an hour.
No paramedics were on scene.
“You don’t even know if she’s going to come back or not,” said Salter-Hydinger, a physician who rushed to her daughter’s aid. “I just prayed to God that He would allow her to live and reach her potential.”
A Helivac helicopter transported Salter to an Atlanta area hospital. Doctors there diagnosed her with a brain contusion, concussion and broken right collarbone. She spent two days in the ICU before coming home to Birmingham, where she underwent surgery to repair the break.
Salter doesn’t remember details from the day of her accident. For that, she is grateful.
“Because I probably would not be riding if I remembered that day,” she said.
In the aftermath of the fall, Salter-Hydinger and her husband, Steve, weighed whether or not they would allow their daughter to ride competitively again.
They knew that another accident could have lasting consequences, especially if it caused another brain injury. Ultimately, they decided to let her hop back in the saddle.
“It was real important to me for her to get back, just to show herself that she could do it,” Susan Salter-Hydinger said. “Anything past that was just a gift.”
GIVING HER ALL
Today, it is nearly impossible to detect signs of the trauma that Salter experienced. She has recovered fully from her fall and has resumed a busy schedule.
She rides Anthem six days per week, competes in 20 to 25 shows per year all across the country and has returned to the hunter division.
“She’s had a lot of success,” trainer Camille Maddrix said.
Due to her travel-heavy schedule, Salter is enrolled as a virtual student at MBHS. She made the switch before her junior year, and it has allowed her to stay on top of her school work while concentrating on equestrian competitions.
Nevertheless, she has done her best to stay involved on campus. Salter is a member of multiple honor societies and is an MBHS Ambassador.
“I’m so thankful that she’s been able to do well and reach her potential,” her mother said.
Tim Maddrix, another of Salter’s trainers, has seen her confidence grow since the fall. That confidence has helped spark her comeback and propel her up the national rankings.
“It’s really a mental game with the horses,” Tim Maddrix said. “If you’re not confident, you don’t tend to do as well. And then when you think can do anything, the horses kind of believe it.”
Salter said that Anthem has earned her complete confidence. Together, they have one year of competition left. She doesn’t plan to ride at shows after graduating from high school and will instead focus on her studies. Salter said she eventually wants to become a doctor like her mom. But for now, she is relishing her time with her horse, which she calls her best friend.
“He always gives me his 100%,” she said, “so I try to give him my all, too.”