Silva Martin, wife of American eventer Boyd Martin, has been hospitalised after a freak accident while riding at her winter base in Wellington, Florida.
Boyd said in a statement that the horse that Silva was training tripped and she “bumped her head on the horse’s neck on the way down”.
Silva, who was on the United States team that won the Nations Cup 2 weeks ago, was wearing a hat but was knocked unconscious in the fall and had a seizure. She was immediately flown by helicopter to Delray Medical Centre.
“So far CT scans show some bleeding on her brain, which remains stable scan after scan,” said Boyd.
“Doctors are opting not to do surgery at this time in hopes that Silva’s body reabsorbs the blood.
“At the moment the doctors are hoping that slowly but surely she will come back to her senses as her body heals from the injury. Her current condition is a deep sleep, and doctors expect that it will take a few days for her to be more responsive and alert”.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Boyd (pictured above) was due to be competing 5 horses at Red Hills International horse trials in Florida this weekend, but has travelled to the hospital to be with Silvia.
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Well-wishers are being asked to leave a get-well message for Silvia on her Facebook page.
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Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.
