Alyssa Selman’s passion for horses is deep-rooted.
“I wasn’t raised with them,” Selman told Global News at her home in Carman, Man.
“My dad didn’t really like much of any animal and my mom is a little scared of horses, so my uncle had a horse at my grandparents’ and I used to sneak out and play with it and ride it. And that’s probably where it all started.”
Sneaking out to ride her uncle’s horse eventually turned into a career in the fast lane. Selman says at about eight years old, she knew she wanted to be a jockey. She began racing horses at the age of 21.
“Just riding horses all day and getting paid for that? Getting paid to ride horses, lots of horses, all of them. You could be as greedy as you want, (ride) as many as you want,” Selman said.
“And a little bit of adrenaline.”
In 2015, an accident during a race at Winnipeg’s Assiniboia Downs changed everything. Selman was in fourth place, when her horse clipped the legs of the horse in front of it and tumbled to the ground.
“I don’t remember the accident; I think I’m missing about four days. It’s likely just shock because I was awake and coherent, but I don’t remember anything,” Selman said.
“The only thing I remember is I was at Cirque du Soleil with my mom and my dad that day, and I remember driving down Portage Avenue to go to the racetrack, and I don’t remember anything after that.”
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The accident left Selman paralyzed from the chest down and would mark the beginning of her journey of learning to live a new reality.
“The physical part was probably the easiest part because I was already fit from race-riding and having such a strenuous career,” Selman said.
“Definitely the emotional part of it was a little more challenging. Just accepting that it would be this way and learning to live this way, and actually just accept myself this way. It was hard just leaving the house in a wheelchair, I just felt like everybody would watch and see me differently. And they didn’t, it was just my own mind telling me that.”
In 2015, about two weeks after her accident, Selman told Global News in an interview that she would one day ride again.
“I will ride again, yes. It’s a big part of me,” she said at the time.
And Selman has kept her word, riding regularly on her property in Carman, surrounded by horses, dogs and family.
A few years after her accident, Selman ordered a specialized saddle from Arkansas and added some of her own modifications.
“The adaptive saddle was the biggest change and that got me a lot of freedom,” Selman said.
“And shortly after the saddle came the right horse.”
That’s where Duke comes in. Selman purchased the Belgian paint gelding in Beausejour, Man. Duke had previously been a 4-H horse and worked with children with disabilities.
“(The previous owner) was taking people in to see if they were a good fit for him, so she had a lot of people interested in this horse,” Selman said.
“I was one of many people who got to go meet him and when I got there she was like, ‘He’s for you’ … so it was meant to be.”
Selman rides regularly, and while she says she feels most comfortable in the saddle, she is constantly pushing and even entered barrel racing in Carman this summer.
“The whole community was cheering,” she said. “That was amazing, like everybody, I could hear them all cheering”
Selman plans to continue barrel racing and hopes to get a little better each summer. She’s also sharing her passion with her daughter and other members of her family, something that she says brings her the most joy.
“My whole family rides, and I think the most fun is teaching them and riding with them. We go out as a big crew.”
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