Devon, Pa.—June 1  

Jen Alfano hadn’t even made it into the ambulance after her fall on May 31 at Devon before she started arranging other riders to take over on her remaining mounts. 

When Hunt Tosh was asked when he got the nod to take over the reins on Alfano’s usual ride Miss Lucy, he replied: “When she was sitting in the dirt yesterday!” And he wasn’t joking.

“It was one of those things that happened so fast. Liza [Boyd] was actually back at the hotel when I called her and said, ‘Come hop on Maggie May.’ So she ran back and got on that one,” Tosh said. “We all try and help each other out whenever we can. Hopefully Jen’ll be OK soon and back at it.”

Alfano was transported to a local hospital, where she was diganosed with a fractured knee and a torn anterior cruciate ligament. She was released and was back at the show on June 1 on crutches. Trainer Susie Schoelkopf said that Alfano will visit with her personal doctor in Buffalo, N.Y., in a few days to determine a treatment plan. 

Boyd finished out the high performance division with Alfano’s ride Maggie May, while Tosh took up the reins on Miss Lucy, the horse from which Alfano had fallen, in the same division. They both picked up ribbons with the catch-rides. 

“Liza and Hunt are class acts and very close friends of Jen’s. It’s a natural thing that we’d ask her two best friends to help out,” said Schoelkopf, who wasn’t at Devon but was traveling there after attending Russell Frey’s funeral when Alfano’s fall happened. “They’re great riders and great friends. Jen would do the same for them if it the situation was reversed.

“We can’t thank Hunt’s and Liza’s owners enough and Tom Wright enough for helping out. Caroline Moran jumped right in and came to the hospital to organize and help out,” Schoelkopf said. Tom Wright had been filling in for Schoelkopf, so he helped Tosh and Boyd with Maggie May and Miss Lucy as well.