Former professional horse jockey Alyssa Selman of Stephenfield is now helping out the next generation of young horse riders in the area with lessons and training.
Selman was a respected horse jockey when she was thrown from a horse during a race at Winnipeg’s Assiniboia Downs in June of 2015. She hit the ground with enough force to fracture her vertebrae and badly damage her spinal cord. She became paralyzed from the chest down.
It didn’t take Selman long to get back on the horse after the accident; she was back riding again within a year and a half.
She is a tough customer, and Selman has persevered since returning to horse riding despite a few incidents and setbacks.
“One time, we were doing a late-night ride in the pitch black when my paint horse Duke tripped on a mound,” said Selman. “He landed on his side while I tried to brace the fall of myself and a 1,600-pound horse with my hand. I thought it was broken and didn’t think I could ride back, so I told everyone just to leave me in the field. That is, until the massive amount of coyotes howling motivated me. So they put me on Duke and led me back with another horse. It was soft tissue damage that time. My cousin Tiffany stayed with me for two weeks to help around the house after that, as being down to one limb is very limiting.”
“Another time, Duke fell through a small, unmarked culvert. The fall broke my saddle, but not me that time. Everyone sat in the ditch with me while the horses grazed, and my cousins came. One drove me home, and the other rode my horse home.”
Today, Selman rides her trusty Duke alone on a customized saddle that keeps her upright and on the horse. A few years back, Selman and her grandmother drove all the way to Arkansas for the saddle, which was made for $4,000 by an 80-year-old man who designs saddles for people in wheelchairs. It has extra padding in the seat, a backrest, straps, hinges and Velcro to keep her secure.
It took many modifications until she could ride comfortably the way that she wanted to as well as the hours she wanted to spend in the saddle. But as of late, everything has been going great on the horse.
Selman now gives lessons on the horse to family and friends, but doesn’t do lessons in the typical sense.
“I don’t charge anything, but all the girls help me with the horses, dogs, fencing, and upkeep,” said Selman. “I could not do it without my sister, Amy Scott and my aunt Teresa. It is a family/team effort as most of the girls are cousins, and my daughter Ari’s friends from school.”
Selman’s main hobby is giving these six girls various horse experiences. She and her students now participate and have fun in the local gymkhanas and the Denim and Dust Barrel Racing Series.
“I have taught them the basics. I am not skilled in any discipline. Racing is the only sport I have competed in, but there are many aspects of it that are useful and universal. In this way, I am able to teach the girls how to ride most horses and not just one horse.”
Selman also finds time to breed lovely Catahoula dogs from her home when horse training isn’t enough.
“A couple years after my accident, I needed something that I loved to do almost as much as the horses,” said Selman. “It was dogs—fast, resilient dogs with big hearts. My grandparents had a Catahoula when I was in elementary school. When it passed, they got another, and when that one passed, they got another. All were named Jed. I was close to all the Jeds, so it was an easy choice of breed that I started in 2019. And now I have two litters a year. It’s a lot of fun.”
Standard Photos by Alyssa Selman
