As many of you may know, one of our well-known horse enthusiasts Brian Hunt was in a horrific car accident on July Fourth. Brian was on his moped following a horse trailer being pulled by his friend Sara, when he was hit by a car. They were on their way to go trail riding.
Brian was med-flighted to a Milwaukee hospital in critical condition. He was in the intensive care unit with a ruptured aorta, head trauma, broken bones and other internal injuries. Brian went through surgery to repair the aorta, was then given a tracheostomy and put on a ventilator to assist his breathing.
And now a little background
Brian is a 1997 graduate of Waunakee High School. Ever since I’ve known him, he’s shown Arabian horses. His dad, Gary, who died less than two years ago, was very supportive of Brian’s horse showing, hauling him all over the state, along with his mom, Kathy. I first met Brian when he was in 4-H, and I eventually became his 4-H leader. That was over 15 years ago. As Brian grew up, he started showing on the Arabian circuit, and eventually decided he wanted to judge horse shows. Like all judges, he started junior judging a few times with my daughter Michelle (Young) Smith, who’s a good friend of Brian’s. Eventually he went on his own and became a well-known and respected judge in Wisconsin. He also started his own business, Equine Media Productions.
Brian has come a long way since the accident. He is responsive and answering questions appropriately. He is in stable condition medically but has suffered brain trauma, so he has many, many months of therapy ahead.
If you’ve ever known anyone who has went through this, you know there are thousands of dollars in expenses, some covered by insurance, some not. Because of this, a group of Brian’s friends have gotten together to help out a horse guy and decided to put on a horse show. This show will be held Sunday, Oct. 11, at Bounds Arena in Deerfield (see this edition of the Wisconsin Horsemen’s News for the show bill).
We are looking for class sponsors, as we have a great lineup of 60 classes. We are giving 100 percent of the profits to Brian and are hoping to get all classes sponsored.
We are very thankful to Pam Bound for donating the facility, and Sid Larson for volunteering to judge, and for all of the class sponsorships received thus far.
We are also having a silent auction. Donations of stallion breedings and other big-ticket items can be seen ahead of time at ablackhorse.com. Other smaller items will be at the show to bid on.
Between the profits from the show and the money made at the silent auction, we should be able to help Brian out not only with his bills but with expenses, too, so he will be able to keep his horse, Go-Go. No matter how long it takes to heal and how many months of therapy, he will ride again. And with all of the great horse people in Wisconsin helping him, it will happen!
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