I Shouldn’t Be Able to Do This, But I Can

Gianna Trotter suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was one year old. Now 28, she is competing against able-bodied riders in the jumper ring and hopes to inspire others to do the same.

by Gianna Trotter

A week after my first birthday, my mom and I were on the highway and had a serious accident. My mom suffered a few broken ribs, but I had a traumatic brain injury. We were taken to the Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune City, N.J., where I spent two weeks in a coma. I don’t remember anything before the accident or about that time in my life.

The car hit me in the front of the left side of my brain. The left side of the brain controls the right, and the right side of the brain controls the left, so I have full use of my left side but limited function and increased muscle tone on my right. Fortunately, my traumatic brain injury did not cause mental issues or memory loss, but I’ve always walked with a limp on the right side, and I can’t straighten my right arm.

The first few years of my life were spent doing in-patient occupational and physical therapy. The doctors said I wasn’t going to be able to walk or talk, or to live a normal life. I guess I grew up with the mentality of, “Let me try it.” I know a lot of people who give up in those situations as they remember what they could do before their accident, but that was not my case. When people ask me, “How do you cope?” I tell them that I grew up only using my left hand. I have a lot of faith, and I knew from a young age that everything happens for a reason.

A part of my therapy growing up was hippotherapy and that first introduced me to horseback riding. It was thought to be good for my muscles, balance, and overall mental health. I got to the trot when I was 12 years old, but I never went beyond that. I didn’t ride all the time; it would be once a week in the summer but then in the winter, my muscles would get really tight because of the cold weather in New Jersey. I did a walk-trot show but stopped riding after that as my dad got spooked when the horse went into a really fast trot. I don’t appear to be as agile or able as I am, so he got nervous with me being around horses. My mom was a little afraid too, but she’s better now.

“I had no idea that this would be my life path or my purpose, everything just fell into place.”

In high school, I went to Hawaii and there was a horseback ride up the mountains, which I was really excited to do. At the time, I loved to travel so my goal then was to go to every single country and horseback ride. I didn’t even know there were equestrian sports like jumping, I thought there was just riding! I came back from Hawaii with the intention of taking riding lessons for the sole purpose of being able to canter in another country. In my first-ever proper riding lesson, I met Ziggy. I don’t know if it was his chestnut color that appealed to me, or because he was just so sweet — but I just clicked with him right away. He was a 19-year-old Appendix, who was experienced, wise, and took care of me. I started riding twice a week because I loved it so much, but I went to the barn literally six days a week to spend time with Ziggy. I had never felt anything like the connection with him before.

When Ziggy took me over my first cross rail, I was instantly hooked. It was the feeling of a lifetime, but it also confirmed the partnership that I had with Ziggy. I continued taking lessons and then found out that Ziggy’s owner was putting him up for sale.

I thought, “He can either be in my life forever until the day he dies, or I’ll never see him again and wonder what if.” So, I bought him.

I had no idea that this would be my life path or my purpose; everything just fell into place. I had dreams of owning a horse when I was little, but I didn’t think it would be realistic until I could spend every waking second with them out in my backyard. I thought I needed to be retired to do that, instead, I became a horse mom at age 20.

I went on to train with Neal and Elisa Shapiro [who competed on Olympic teams for the U.S. and Mexico, respectively], and it turned out that they trained Ziggy seven years before I even met him, so they knew how he acted. They took me through my first show season in 2019, and we got fourth place overall for the year at our home horse show, Princeton Show Jumping in New Jersey. I could never take the training I got from Neal and Elisa for granted, and I would not be in the position I am in right now had it not been for them. I’m so grateful as they taught me a really solid foundation — how to feel the horse and what the horse needs, but also how I can be a good rider and adjust to different horses. We experimented a bit because I couldn’t ride traditionally, or by tying a knot in the reins because they would slip out.

“I guess I grew up with the mentality of, ‘Let me try it’”

We visited Lizzy Traband [US Equestrian’s 2016 Junior Equestrian of the Year] in Pennsylvania, who is a one-armed rider who successfully shows in the 1.40m. We got advice from Lizzy about what worked for her — and figured out what worked for me and what didn’t. She was born without her left forearm and hand, and doesn’t have increased muscle tone like I do, so she can use a prosthetic. Because I have increased muscle tone, I can’t ride with two hands as I would be pulling on the horse’s face all the time on that side. Instead, we created a bridle system using a German martingale rein attachment with three loops, then cut up a pair of traditional reins with the buckle in the middle so that it lays over the horse’s neck, and had a cobbler add clips on each side to attach to the German martingale. That allows me to ride with one hand — every time I want direct contact, I use my pinky to bend him to the left, and then I use my pointer finger to bend him to the right.

Fortunately, most of the horses I’ve ridden have been trained enough to know what neck reining is. I’ve never had any issues with judges complaining as they are all very accommodating, but I also have a Dispensation Certificate from USEF. I’m able to show with able-bodied riders, and the good thing about doing jumpers is that they allow magnetic stirrups. They help with my leg as I don’t have heel strike on my right side. Before I got magnetic stirrups, I used to tie my foot with rubber bands to keep it in place.

After my first show season with Ziggy, I retired him from jumping and just did flatwork on him because he deserved a break after having a full career. I started doing bridleless and bareback work with him, while also leasing a chestnut Thoroughbred mare. I am more particular in what I need from a horse than an able-bodied person, and although she was great and I learned a lot, it didn’t work out.

Ziggy unfortunately passed away at age 24, and because we loved each other so much, I didn’t go to the barn for two weeks even though I knew I wanted to keep riding. I tried a few different horses at the barn and thought it would be a couple of years until I found my perfect horse again. I came across an ad for a horse in Virginia and sent it to Neal, who liked him even though he was only jumping a cross rail in the video. We went to see him, and he just took care of me from the outset, so we ended up buying him. His show name is Justin Case, and his barn name is Casey.

He’s an Appendix, and is the same breed, color, markings, and height as Ziggy — just a younger version. He is 11 now, and I bought him when he was seven. We haven’t shown much as I kind of took a break, but I took him to the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla., in the spring and everything went great. I got my love for jumping back. This horse has been a godsend and now my goal for 2025 is to show more and do more away shows. We successfully competed in the .85m at WEC, he’s never done anything bigger than that, but I am hoping to do the .90m later this year.

I was definitely nervous competing at WEC. Half of me thought I would go off course because I get so in my head, and half of me was so excited to show and jump that I couldn’t settle my brain down. It was nice being down there for a month because I got to practice being levelheaded and comfortable. My new motto is “you only have to be sane for a minute and a half,” and that’s what helps me. Casey is definitely a horse that is truly dependable in any situation. He’s so perfect for me, even if I put my foot a little bit farther back, he doesn’t care, and he adapts to it. I am so lucky to have found one heart horse, and the fact that I have two is so surreal to me.

Ziggy and Casey have both taught me to have confidence — I am a fearless rider, that means a lot to me, and I think people can see it. I was feeling really down about my disability one day and complained about why I couldn’t do certain things. Elisa asked, “Would you rather have a disability, or would you rather be fearful?” A lot of able-bodied riders are fearful and that holds them back more than my disability does for me.

I never expected to get such a positive response to my social media posts. People noticed my riding, and they just started following me. My sole purpose is to share the message that I shouldn’t be able to do this, but I can. If someone with cerebral palsy, Multiple Sclerosis or any other physical disability, or someone who is fearful or feeling discouraged can see me and the way I ride, maybe they can be encouraged to try.