Canterbury Jockey Injured In Accident Aims To Beat Odds
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- What happened to a horse jockey in Phoenix is being felt in the Twin Cities.
Anne Von Rosen, 42, was crushed by a horse after a race, and it's being called a freak accident.
She works part of the year at Canterbury Park in Shakopee.
At right around 5-feet-tall, Von Rosen was a jockey on the rise, splitting her time between Arizona and Shakopee.
"She won more races every year, which tells you that not only was she improving, but she got the respect of more horsemen and owners to make sure that they were putting her on her horse," said Eric Halstrom, the vice president of racing operations at Canterbury.
Von Rosen's had more than 600 wins in her career. After a second place finish in Phoenix on Tuesday, an unusual accident changed everything.
"Almost had the horse to a walk, and the horse was in distress had a heatstroke kind of thing, and the horse collapsed on her," said Von Rosen's agent and close friend Troy Bainum.
The 1,000-pound mare broke Von Rosen's neck.
"She remembers going down," Bainum said. "She remembers she couldn't feel her legs when she went down, so she knew something was wrong."
In just a few weeks, Von Rosen was set to come back to Minnesota. She was supposed to hit the track at Canterbury Park on May 16.
"This is difficult to a lot of us," Halstrom said. "Anne's been a part of the family for 15 years. She's ridden at Canterbury almost 15 seasons."
Her agent says there's a 99 percent chance she won't walk again, so instead of focusing on racing a horse this spring, she'll be trying to beat her own odds.
Von Rosen's co-workers at Canterbury have started a relief fund. Checks can be sent "For the Benefit of Anne VonRosen to the below address.
Voyager Bank
500 Marschall Rd
Shakopee, Minn. 55379