Dr. Craig Ferrell, a doctor who served as the U.S. Equestrian Federation team physician and as the Chair of the Fédération Equestre Internationale Medical Council, died from injuries to his neck and spine on Monday, May 28, after falling from a horse while playing polo on May 23. He was 62.
Dr. Ferrell, an avid rider and competitor himself, cared for many top riders, such as Margie Engle and McLain Ward, after their own injuries.
He was injured in a polo match near his home in Franklin, Tenn. He was taken immediately to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Tenn.). According to The Tennessean, Ferrell tore the ligaments on the back of his neck, which caused bleeding in his spinal cord. It was a high cervical cord injury with the hematoma in his spinal cord at C-2 and C-3, barely below the brain.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Dr. Ferrell has been a friend for years now, but in the past year he has been a saving grace for me. Through my injury he has been a huge shoulder to lean on for my wife and I. Hearing the news of his accident has shaken us to our core. It is hard to express what this man has done for me over the past four months. Things like this should not happen to people like him,” said Ward on the Facebook page dedicated to information about Dr. Ferrell.
Services for Dr. Ferrell will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, 2015 West End Ave., Nashville, Tenn.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to BrightStone, 140 Southeast Parkway Court, Franklin, TN 37205.
