Growing up in Ireland, Kevin Babington was immersed in horses from a young age. He was the youngest of 11 children, and while his siblings weren’t into horses, a school friend invited him to watch a riding lesson at age nine, and Babington was instantly hooked. The first equine he bought was a donkey named Fred ... but the future Olympian still managed to teach him how to jump!
After graduating from donkeys to horses, Babington took his riding instructor exams with the British Horse Society at 17, and the following year, he moved to the U.S. with $300 in his pocket to embark on a career as a professional show jumper.
Over the decades, Babington fulfilled his equestrian dreams — and much more — competing on the Irish national team in the European Championships, the World Equestrian Games, and the 2000 FEI Nations Cup, where Ireland took gold for the first time. In 2004, Babington competed in the Athens Summer Olympic Games in both individual and team jumping, finishing joint fourth in the individual event.
Babington’s competitive aspirations came to a shattering end on Aug. 31, 2019, during the $75,000 Douglas Elliman Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic Horse Show when he suffered a catastrophic fall with his mount, Shorapur, at a triple combination. There was a tight two strides between the “B” and “C” elements, but Shorapur attempted to leave the ground after just one stride and came down on the vertical.
Babington fell forward, hitting the ground headfirst. The impact caused him to somersault, creating a force that resulted in the contusion of his spinal cord. He said he knew immediately that it wasn’t a normal fall as he couldn’t move his legs, and he felt like his arms were stuck in the air.
Babington, then 50, had suffered a complete spinal cord injury and was medevacked to Stoneybrook Hospital in Long Island, N.Y. After 48 hours, he was transferred to NYU – Langone Health in Manhattan, where he remained for several weeks, before being moved to Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in Marlton, N.J. (where Christopher Reeve was previously treated).
To keep his spirits up while at Kessler, Babington’s family arranged for his favorite horse, Irish Sport Horse gelding Mark Q, to be trucked to the hospital parking lot, where he was reunited with Babington and dropped his muzzle into his rider’s lap.
Babington underwent surgery to stabilize the vertebrae in his neck, and by mid-October, he could breathe without a ventilator but was paralyzed from the neck down.
The accident may have kept him permanently out of the saddle, but it has not stopped horses remaining an integral part of his life. He returned home to Loxahatchee Grove, Fla., in December 2019, and began teaching again from his wheelchair.
“It's a tough transition going from being a top athlete to living in a wheelchair, but the fact that I could continue teaching and giving back makes me feel blessed in a way,” Babington said. “It’s a whole new set of eyes from when you're sitting in a chair, I find I work on finer details than I did before. I love teaching now. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it before, but I was a rider first and a teacher second — now my students have my full attention.”
He has also found a new perspective on his teaching.
“I feel like everybody can learn something, whether it's a timid beginner or a Grand Prix rider. It means as much to a beginner to learn to pick up the canter in a different way as it does for me helping an international rider,” Babington explained. “I've also learned to be very patient. I understand people's fear and I'm much more sympathetic than I was before.”
Now that he is not riding, Babington said he has a different connection with horses.
“I go down to the barn, and I know which horses want to greet me, and I know which ones couldn’t care less,” he said. “It's interesting as some of them are very inquisitive, it’s funny to see the different characters. Certain horses will step back into the stall and then slowly come out and sniff me all over when I drive the wheelchair up to them.”
Currently, Babington’s most meaningful contact with the show jumping world is through his daughters, Gwynet and Marielle, who are both professional riders based in Florida.
“I feel a bond with their horses through them. I have to live through their feelings and their eyes. I know all the little idiosyncrasies of whatever horse they're riding,” Babington said.
That bond was especially strong when his oldest daughter, Gwyneth, was competing on her dad’s former mount, Mark Q, and had great success in her own right with him.
“I'm very lucky. I have two wonderful daughters and they're as passionate about this sport, if not more so, than I was,” Babington said, recalling how both Gwyneth and her younger sister, Marielle, grew up quickly after his accident, and helped with the family business despite still being teenagers at the time. “Marielle was a kid and she practically stepped up to the plate to be my barn manager.”
Another key factor in Babington’s recovery is his service dog, Samantha, an Australian Shepherd, from Canine Support Teams, who is always by his side.
“She is a great dog; she always keeps an eye on me,” Babington said. “When I go down to the barn, she stays just a few feet from the chair. Sometimes I feel bad for her as our three other dogs will wander off to play, but Samantha is on call at all times. She is a good companion more than anything, but she can also aid me in certain ways that regular dogs can’t.”
Babington has become very involved in promoting rider safety since his accident, first through the Kevin Babington Foundation (KBF) that was founded in 2019, and more recently with the book, “Babington: Triumph, Tragedy, Inspiration,” which was co-written by Jeff Papows, PhD., a member of the Kevin Babington Foundation board of directors, and Michael Cruciotti, founder of MAC Sports.
The main objectives of the foundation are to provide funding for grants to support athletes who sustain spinal injuries while show jumping, and to support the development and awareness of safety equipment in the equestrian community.
“One of the critical things that Kevin, Michael, and I are really hoping for — and part of the impetus for getting the story out — is the broader use of air vests,” Papows said. “We are trying to get people throughout the various levels of the sport to recognize the profound effect that air vests can have on people’s safety.”
Olympic show jumper Laura Kraut was an early proponent of air vests and continues to spread the word of their importance to rider safety.
“Laura has been a godsend because she's one of those people who from the early days was very prominently wearing an air vest,” said Papows, who at 72, wears a vest every time he rides, and is adamant that it lessens impact when he falls.
The Kevin Babington Foundation also supports research and development into other forms of safety equipment, such as safety stirrups and helmets.
“Riding is such a big part of our lives even for amateurs; anything that can be done to keep you riding and prevent you having downtime and losing the connection with your horse is important,” Papows said.
The Kevin Babington Foundation spreads the message about rider safety at various events around the country throughout the year, but their main tentpole event takes place each March in Wellington, Fla., and is called Kevin’s Rockstars Lip Sync Fundraiser. True to its name, it encourages members of the equestrian community to get up on stage to lip sync for a good cause.
“It attracts 500 to 650 guests every year and is an incredible fundraising opportunity,” Cruciotti said.
“There are notable equestrians that, as it turns out, have incredible musical abilities and fantastic voices,” Papows continued. “You never know what you're going to get, but it's quite an evening.”
In addition, horse shows around the U.S. can get involved in the good work the foundation is doing by holding a Babington Benefit Class. The show can designate a specific class where all, or a percentage of, the entry fees go to benefit the Kevin Babington Foundation.
“We’ve had shows in California, Idaho, Arkansas, and Washington reach out to get involved,” Cruciotti said. “It has grown naturally from people wanting to be a part of the fundraisers who weren't able to come to the main fundraiser in Wellington.”
As a 501(c)(3) charity, the main goal of the Kevin Babington Foundation is to fundraise.
“One of the worst things about paralysis is that it is catastrophic financially — not just for the individuals, but for entire families,” Papows said. “The cost of care for around-the-clock nursing, plus all the medical problems that arise not just from the paralysis itself, but from wound care and other things. The hardest thing is that it could be any one of us. This is one of the world's most beautiful sports, but we must face the facts that it also can be dangerous.”
Cruciotti continued, saying: “When a spinal cord injury does happen again, we have the material, we have the connections, we have the network, and we have the resources to not eliminate it, but to help try to mitigate it.”
For more information on the Kevin Babington Foundation and to order the book “Babington: Triumph, Tragedy, Inspiration,” please visit Amazon.com or kevinbabingtonfoundation.org. The book is now available in all formats including as an audibook, Kindle, and on Spotify.