Horse owners notoriously close the sale of a favorite horse with the caveat, “if you ever decide to sell, I would like the opportunity to buy them back.” Nicole Kuklinski, 24, of Illinois, remembers echoing the sentiment to Anne MacEwen Kennedy when she bought Dancin In My Sleep, a 2005 black gelding by Too Sleepy To Zip and out of Ready To Dance, that Nicole called Karl.

Kuklinski showed Karl in Youth Hunter Under Saddle and Halter classes at American Quarter Horse Association sanctioned shows. She credits him with being the first horse to get her name called for top finishes at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress, the Tom Powers Futurity, the AQHA World Show and a year-end Top 10 standing with AQHA.

“I remember telling her, that if anything ever happens and you don’t want him anymore, let me know,” Kuklinski said reminiscing. “Never did I think it would actually happen.”

Nor could she have imagined that he would find his way back to her as a therapy horse. 

It all changes in an instant

In April 2019, Kuklinski and her boyfriend were driving from the Georgia On My Mind Circuit in Conyers, Georgia to the airport in a torrential downpour. Cars were hydroplaning at five miles an hour and traffic was at a standstill – except for a Ford Expedition that came barreling down the highway at 75 mph.

The driver slammed into the back of the couple’s Ford Edge rental, spinning the car, and hitting it a second time, head on. The impact slammed Kuklinski’s head into the window and her saddle, which was in the backseat also struck her head. She woke up in the hospital to learn she suffered a traumatic brain injury, whiplash and injured her pelvis.

“I lost my ability to walk, to talk, my cognitive memory and my short term memory,” she said. “My vision was really screwed up and my ears were damaged, and a lot of your balance comes from your ears.”

At home her boyfriend, Kevin Podraza, carried her from room to room because she was unable to stand or walk. Cognitive, speech, nuero feedback, craniosacral therapy and others consumed her days. Before long, one therapist recommended hippotherapy, which is done on horseback.

Riders sit on a sheepskin pad while volunteers walk alongside for support. Physical therapists, occupational therapists and certified therapeutic instructors work with the horse and rider to facilitate healing.

“They work on restoring your balance, your cognitive function and your motor skills,” she said. “I would do eye exercises. I would hold my hands up, just many different physical therapy exercises, right on the back of a horse.”

Medical bills forced her to sell her show horses Sketchie Details and Im All Diva. By the time Kuklinski started hippotherapy in September 2019, it had been five months since she had been to the barn. She completed one session and was hooked.

“They made me feel like I was back on my horse. I cried the first time I got on because I never thought I’d be able to ride again. I think I had a smile on my face for days,” she said.

Reunited

Just over a year later, Kuklinski is still unable to work. An hour-long conversation or a trip to the barn is exhausting. But she’s determined and has graduated to therapeutic riding sessions. Riders are still guided by licensed therapists and certified instructors but have more independence and sit in the saddle.

Kuklinski rides Holistic Riding Equestrian Therapy and the organization’s founder, Marlene F. Karman, needed a new therapy horse. Kuklinski posted a call for help on Facebook, asking friends if they knew of a good fit.

“I saw Nicole’s post and it immediately made me think of Karl,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy initially purchased Karl as a show horse, but arthritis limited his career. After exhausting all medical possibilities, she sent him to Oregon for a summer to learn to be a trail horse. While he is kind and gentle, he is terrified of water. Washington is a rainy state meaning so his trail riding seasons were limited. That’s one reason Kennedy decided to give him back to Kuklinski.

“I knew he and Nicole had an incredible bond and that his personality would make him the perfect horse for others in the program,” she said.

Paying it forward

In a little more than a year, Kuklinski has made significant progress. She still has a long road ahead of her but is hoping to be back in the show pen one day. One car accident changed her life forever. Never did she imagine a horse show season would be replaced by therapeutic riding. Instead of focusing on the negative and the challenges, she is experiencing how much the spirit of an animal is changing people’s lives.

“Having Karl back is really helping my emotional healing,” she said. “Eventually he will start helping other people with disabilities. Therapeutic riding gave me my life back and helped me so much that I want to help other people experience the same.”

Being on the receiving end of all the therapy and the volunteers who make it happen has been overwhelming, she says. And she has been surprised by how much horses are helping her recover.

“I want to give back as much as I can, even though I can’t do much, I feel like I’m giving back by letting others use my horse,” she said.

Kuklinski’s friend Samantha Jokipii established a GoFundMe account to help with medical and rehab expenses, as well as expenses for Karl and her therapeutic riding sessions.

“Nicole is someone who would always lend a hand to anyone in need,” Jokipii wrote on the fundraising page. 

            (Editor’s Note: You can find the GoFundMe page at: www.gofundme.com/f/pdm4w7?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet