Speaking from
a hospital in Wichita, Kan., Teresa Wilcox said ?I?m one lucky woman. I?m one
lucky woman.
Wilcox of Chadwick was taking part in an endurance horse
race Tuesday and was struck by a car just as she crossed the finish line
outside of Canton, Kan.
Her horse, Mr. Valentine, died on
impact.
?Luckily my horse saved my life. He was tall enough it ejected me
over the vehicle instead of into it. I heard people screaming and hollering.
I?m sure I was doing my share? Wilcox said.
Teresa Wilcox and Katy
Tynes of Springfield were featured in a News-Leader article before they set
out for the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride, an 800-mile trek
from New Mexico to Missouri. The race will conclude Sept. 15.
They
were raising money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield.
Wilcox
owns a tile business and trains horses. Tynes is a therapist, social worker
and former president of the board of Boys & Girls Club.
The women
started the race on Sept. 3 with seven horses.
They split up during the
race, said Patrick Gartland, executive director of the club, who spoke with
Tynes on Tuesday.
Tynes joined a Kansas group and Wilcox went ahead with
another rider.
Tynes told Gartland both riders were airlifted after the
accident.
Wilcox was still in the hospital, but did not have any broken
bones. The other rider she was with, who is from Oklahoma, suffered a
dislocated hip and broken thumb.
Both horses were killed in the
accident.
Wilcox was determined to win Tuesday, the ninth day of the
race, as she had already won two days of races.
In Kansas, she said
schoolchildren were waving them on. Everything was going great. A little dog
followed her the last three miles of the race.
As the crossed the finish
line, she was laughing and waving.
?When you?re running that fast, they
(the horses) are just flying,? Wilcox said. ?Both of us were just a smiling
and all of a sudden I saw this car and said ?Oh, crud.? I hit that car and it
was like hitting a wall. I was in the air. It happened so fast. I saw a pole,
a stop sign and I tucked into fetal position.
I thought I busted all
my body up. I felt like I was bleeding inside. It seemed like eternity laying
on the ground.
Wilcox was not sure how far the finish line was from the
road.
The McPherson Sentinet reported that the driver of the vehicle
was transported to McPherson Memorial Hospital. An official with the
McPherson County Sheriff?s Department said the driver would not be
charged.
Wilcox said she does not know when she will be released from the
hospital or what she will do next.
Taking it one hour at a time, she
said. I walk around. I walk like an old lady, but I'm walking.
The
organizers of the event had not contacted her.
I feel really bad about my
horse and her horse, too. Wilcox said. It's a damn
shame.
