Amy Jacobs’ faith strengthened by harrowing horse accident
Amy Jacobs wears a silver horse necklace around her neck and carries a cross made of fence wire as reminders of a series of what she calls
“God-incidences” that happened to her on May 28, 2011.
Jacobs, an orthodontist and Southeast member, can click off seven events on her hand. A change in any one would have changed what happened that day.
That perfect summer day, Jacobs texted five different people to go on a trail ride at Salmon Horse Farm just outside Jeffersontown. When no one was able to
go, she decided to go alone, as she had many times.
“A ride is always good therapy,” she said. “It’s my escape, my quiet time. I do a lot of praying and worship as I ride. Sheik, my horse, is the best listener.”
Walking to the barn, Jacobs savored the beauty of the country, noticing clusters of wild daisies and honeysuckle.
“I was talking to God, thanking Him for the beauty of the day,” Jacobs said. “I don’t know how somebody can look at a daisy and not believe there was a Creator.”
Jacobs had been riding for an hour on the 900-acre farm when Sheik caught his left rear hoof in a panel gate hidden by weeds and fell onto Jacobs’ left leg. He
tried to stand up, but the hoof was caught in the fence wire as if it had been woven. Jacobs tried to free her leg. Every time Sheik tried to get up, he fell back
further on Jacobs’ leg. Soon she was holding Sheik’s head, trying to keep him calm.
Jacobs knew she was in trouble.
“God, it’s all up to You now,” she prayed.
Jacobs knew both she and the horse were in a dangerous position. Sheik could panic, break his leg and crush her as he tried to right himself.
Jacobs reached for her cellphone, grateful that it still was in her pocket. Getting a signal had always been hit or miss on the trails. This time, her signal was
fine. Coincidence No. 1.
First Jacobs dialed her husband, Steve. No answer. She called her son, Bart, who also knows the trails. He was in Bardstown, too far away to help. Jacobs
dialed her daughter, Stephanie, who also knows the trails at the farm. No answer.
Calling 911 didn’t seem like a good option. Jacobs believed that no one could find her on the remote trail near Floyd’s Fork Creek. She called the owners of the
horse farm. She knew it might be futile as they were at a horse show in Pennsylvania and rarely answered their phone when they were away. This time,
however, Tim Sparks, the farm's owner, had gone to their trailer for a nap when the phone rang. Coincidence No. 2.
Tim called his daughter, Jamie, who decided not to go to her horse show at the last minute. Coincidence No. 3. She knew the trails as well as anyone.
Jamie “just happened” to be in her apartment on the property and got to the trails in about 10 minutes. In the meantime, Sheik’s 1,200-pound frame seemed
heavier and heavier on Jacobs’ leg, which was numb. But as she stroked Sheik’s head, he didn’t struggle to get up. Coincidence No. 4.
“God can make a donkey talk; He can make a horse stay down,” Jacobs said.
Just then, Jacobs heard voices. In 20 years of riding, she had only seen canoes on Floyd’s Fork three times. This was one of those times. Coincidence No. 5.
“I called out to them, and they came up the bank, just as Jamie’s little dog found me just before Jamie arrived. I could tell by the look on her face that it was bad,”
Jacobs said. “Jamie began taking care of Sheik. After years with Sheik, she knows how to handle him.” Coincidence No. 6.
Jamie found that Sheik’s leg was woven in and out of the fence. He never could have freed himself; Jacobs could not have done it either.
From Pennsylvania, Tim called Jamie’s grandfather to bring a heavy set of bolt cutters. Eight cuts later, with the help of the three men in the canoe, Sheik was
free. He bolted to stand up. After 45 minutes under the horse, Jacobs was fine. So was Sheik. Neither one even limped. Coincidence No. 7.
That night, Jacobs went out dancing with her husband. She showed friends the bruises down her leg.
“I told them it was a miracle,” Jacobs said. “God took care of all of us. It’s the only way the story came out like it did.”
The Jacobs went to church as usual that Memorial Day weekend as Teaching Minister Kyle Idleman talked about devastation in Joplin, Mo. With the
congregation, Jacobs sang “I’m alive because of Jesus Christ ….”
Jacobs stayed long after everyone left the Sanctuary.
“If anything had been different that day, both Sheik and I would have died,” she said. “Maybe there’s something I haven’t finished yet. Maybe there’s something
God wants me to do.”
Jacobs went to the hardware store on Memorial Day and bought the strongest bolt cutters she could find and went back to the spot where she had fallen with
Sheik. The fence was so strong she couldn’t make a notch in it. She was amazed that her rescuer did.
One other thing Jacobs noticed.
At the beginning of her trail ride, she used her cellphone to take photos of the daisies. After hitting the trigger, the message on the phone always said “saving.”
The day she went back to take some pictures of where Sheik fell, the message on the phone said “saved.”
That, she believes, was no coincidence.