A Manitoba jockey paralyzed during a horse race at Assiniboia Downs last year wants to ride again.
Alyssa Selman, 30, told CTV News on Friday she hopes to one day buy a saddle that will allow her ride a horse.
“For a long time I said I would never ride again because I can’t do it the way I used to,” said Selman from her new home near Carman, Man. “Recently, I’ve decided maybe I’ll give it a try, a shot. Maybe I will try it”.
She said a big goal would be to ride on the trails with her four-year-old daughter, Ari.
Selman is paralyzed from the chest down. She said before the accident, she felt she could recover from anything.
“I thought I was invincible. That is the honest truth…then this happened. It’s not a foot, or a rib, it’s a spine,” she said.
The former jockey fell head-first after a horse clipped her horse’s heels during a race at Assiniboia Downs.
Selman spent three months in hospital. Doctors told Selman she had a five per cent chance of walking again. She said since that time, there has been no update on her chances of regaining mobility.
The mother of two is now starting to master everyday tasks around the house such as picking up toys, cooking and laundry. She has also inquired about learning to drive.
Thanks to an avalanche of donations, Selman and her family moved into a new home near Carman, located an hour southwest of Winnipeg, on Nov. 1, 2015.
“I could not believe that many people gave... that many people would care so much, and donate so much. I was very blown away," she said.
The donations paid for a sizeable portion of the down payment on the five-year-old house, which is wheelchair accessible with low countertops, an oven that opens sideways, extra wide doors and a wheel-in shower.
There is also space for Selman's horses on the property.
