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I’ve been going to Assiniboia Downs for as long as I can remember, starting early in childhood with my grandparents and parents and continuing to the present day.
Taking in the horse races two or three times a year is a rite of summer, one that has fostered a deep love and respect for these powerful, majestic animals.
There have been many great memories made at the track.
There is also a very dark and disturbing one, a moment that continues to stand out even though it’s nearly a decade since it occurred.
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I was standing on the concourse near the rail on the evening of June 27, 2015, along with several family members and friends, watching as the sixth race came down the home stretch.
What should have been a routine event, the kind I’d witnessed hundreds of times before without incident, quickly became a nightmare.
A horse named Lord Jasmond took a nasty spill, sending his jockey flying. That happened to be 29-year-old Alyssa Selman, one of the few women in a male-dominated industry and a homegrown product to boot.
She was down in a crumpled heap on the track, and my initial reaction was that I’d just seen someone die right in front of my eyes.
If the fall itself didn’t kill her, I was certain either her horse — or one of the thoroughbreds coming up behind her — had either landed on her or trampled her.
A hush came over the track as employees and medical officials rushed to the scene, along with an ambulance that would eventually rush Selman to hospital for emergency surgery.
The married mother of two young children would survive, but her career was over. She had suffered a fractured vertebra and damage to her spinal cord that left her paralyzed from the chest down.
There were a handful of local stories done on Selman in the days and weeks to follow, but she quickly faded from the public spotlight as the news cycle moved on.
Yet every time I go to the Downs, most recently a couple weeks ago, I would think back to that tragic night and wonder how she was doing.
My curiosity finally got the better of me.
I tracked Selman down through Facebook and sent her a private message, which led to a fascinating hour-long phone call.
That was only the beginning.
Alyssa Selman with her horses on her property west of Carman. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
I asked Selman if she was interested in sharing her story in a detailed way. It was clear to me there was a heck of a tale to tell, based on everything she told me — about her life prior to the accident, the crash itself, her time recovering and all that has occurred since.
Fortunately, she agreed. And I met her face-to-face last Thursday, spending much of the day at her four-acre property just west of Carman.
Joining me was Free Press photographer Mikaela MacKenzie, who had actually met Selman in the hospital nine years ago and had, like me, long been contemplating an update on her life.
We spoke for hours, and I got to meet Selman’s 13-year-old daughter, Ari — an aspiring jockey herself — along with the nearly dozen horses they now have on their property and their 11 dogs, along with two recent litters of 14 puppies, which are currently up for adoption.
Alyssa Selman with some of her dogs. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
It was one of the most revealing — not to mention downright adorable — interviews I’ve ever conducted in my career.
Plenty of powerful words. Plenty of poignant pictures.
And we weren’t quite done, returning to the Pembina Valley on Tuesday afternoon and evening as Selman prepared to race a horse once again.
Yes, you read that right. Despite her paralysis, she’s become a frequent rider on her 18-year-old Belgian Paint named Duke. And, as it turned out, our deep dive into her life happened just as she was planning to compete in the “Denim & Dust” barrel racing series that is being held weekly during the summer in Carman.
Talk about perfect timing.
Alyssa Selman pats her horse, Duke, before she competes at the Denim & Dust Barrel Racing Series in Carman. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
Selman has been a frequent attendee in the last couple of months, but only as a spectator and cheerleader for Ari and five other teenage family members/friends who have been riding under her watch for the last couple of years, learning the tricks of the trade.
But now, with the season about to come to an end, Selman decided to lead by example and live out what has become a bit of a motto for her: she can do anything she sets her mind to.
And so there she was on Tuesday night in a truly surreal scene, the sun setting in the distance and seemingly the whole community — most of them clad in cowboy hats as country music blared — cheering her on as she hit the dusty track.
I had written the majority of my feature prior to that heart-tugging scene, but this truly was the case of saving the best for last. I got home just after 10:30 p.m. and typed into the wee hours to finish it off to meet my Wednesday morning deadline.
You can read the entire piece — some 4,200 words, which will be spread over three pages and include plenty of Mikaela’s stunning photos — in this Saturday’s print edition. (It should be online by late Friday afternoon).
The final result is of my favourite stories I’ve ever produced for the newspaper, and I’m so glad Selman trusted us to bring you into her incredible life.
Your support of the Free Press is what allows my colleagues and me to invest the time and resources needed to produce this type of journalism.
Allow me to take a quick moment to pat myself on the back. No, not for anything I wrote. But rather for not coming back to Winnipeg with either a new puppy and/or a horse.
(True story: my wife, knowing me well, explicitly said, “DO NOT GET ONE!” as I headed out last week).
Longtime readers of this newsletter know how much I love dogs. More than most people, in fact. And horses are extremely high on that list as well.
We currently have two dogs, which seems to be a good number for our family right now. But the horse count remains stuck at zero.
Please congratulate me on NOT bringing home this adorable face. (Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
A big part of me has always wanted to own one — whether it’s a thoroughbred at the track, perhaps as part of a conglomerate, or maybe something a little older and slower that could be boarded somewhere where I could visit, ride it often and ensure it is living its best life.
I haven’t completely given up on that dream, and spending so much time around Selman’s stable had the little hamster wheel in my head spinning furiously.
Any horse owners out there? Feel free to send me any and all advice/suggestions/regrets.
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