Mount Tabor High Student Wins United Professional Horseman's Association Exceptional Challenge Cup

Rachel Sanchez

In the Friday, Jan. 3 issue of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Meghann Evans writes about Rachel Sanchez, a student at Mount Tabor High School. Here is an excerpt:

Rachel Sanchez has a lot to be thankful for — her health, her family and an equestrian title.

The 16-year-old Winston-Salem resident was struck in the head by a bullet at age 5 and is legally blind as a result, but it hasn’t slowed her down.

In November, she won the United Professional Horsemen’s Association Exceptional Challenge Cup at the American Royal National Championship in Kansas City. It was her second time competing at nationals.

“I was in shock,” Rachel said of her win over 14 other riders. “I was like, ‘What just happened?’”

Her mother, Stefanie Sanchez, said the result was unexpected because Rachel broke her ankle in June and didn’t ride all summer. They worked hard for a month and a half to prepare for the show.

Rachel currently trains at High Caliber Stables in Greensboro. The owner, Mary Orr, is a friend of the family.

“Rachel is a very special young lady,” Orr by email. “She is a fighter. She loves her horse and she strives to be the very best she can be.”

Rachel’s hard work paid off, according to her mother.

“She nailed it,” her mom said.

That she was able to compete at all is a major accomplishment.

One cold, February day in 2003 when Rachel was 5, a 15-year-old boy was shooting at vehicles on Interstate 40 in Hickory. Rachel’s family lived in Virginia at the time, and she and her sister were visiting their grandfather in Catawba County. The girls were traveling along I-40 with their grandfather when a bullet went through the car window and hit Rachel behind her right ear, lodging in the left part of her skull.

Rachel made it through surgery, a lengthy drug-induced coma and therapy, but she was not unscathed. The traumatic brain injury left Rachel legally blind and suffering from some speech and cognitive
impairments. Her visual clarity varies with how tired she is.

For the complete story, go to Winston-Salem Journal