Local barrel racer injured at CPRA finals

by Vanessa Goodwyn
    Nobody ever said the sport of rodeo is for the faint of heart, and even the most experienced riders acknowledge that large animals and high speeds can be a dangerous combination.  Buffalo’s Markay Carmeans, who is a very successful competitive barrel racer, was involved in a terrible riding accident last Saturday night at the CPRA Finals in Angleton, Texas.  The bad news is that Carmeans  suffered four broken vertebrae and a fifth was compressed.  The good news is that her spinal cord was not damaged and while she faces a prolonged period of rehabilitation, she is expected to make a full recovery.
    Carmeans qualified for the CPRA finals by finishing in the Top Fifteen money earners throughout the past year, competing with many hundreds of other riders.  On Friday evening, in the first round of the finals, she finished in fifth place riding her 8-year-old mare,  Angel.  After completing the pattern the horse had run out into the parking lot at the end of the alley.
    The weather in Angleton was wet and nasty on Saturday, and it was dark by the time Carmeans was scheduled to race in the second round of competition.  She elected to have the gate at the far end of the alley closed, to avoid having Angel run out again and hit the now muddy and slick parking lot surface. 
    After racing around the barrels and sprinting for the finish, Carmeans and Angel were flying when they entered the alley.  Angel appeared not to see the closed gate, and the horse hit the obstacle at a run and fell over backwards on top of Carmeans.   Carmeans was taken initially to the hospital in Angleton where a CAT scan revealed the massive extent of her injuries.  In the middle of the night she was transported to Memorial Herman Hospital in Houston.   
    A mold was made of Carmeans’s body and a customized, removable hard plastic cast was designed.   On Wednesday her husband Kevin reported, “They transferred her to physical therapy, and this morning she actually walked 100 feet!”  He added that her spirits were really good after seeing that she could walk. 
    The Carmeans are already making plans for her to go home, where her mother-in-law and a sister will be available to help out. 
    The horse, Angel, was roughed up, of course and obviously sore.  Kevin is planning to take her for xrays, too.
    Carmeans’s son, Jeremy Melancon, a saddle bronc rider, also qualified for the finals at Angleton.  He had won the first round on Friday and had already competed on Saturday before his mother’s accident.  After being at the hospital all night with his mom, the Carmeans insisted he get some rest on Sunday morning so he could ride in the last round of competition.  On Sunday afternoon Melancon had another good ride and finished the year with a 2nd place finish in the CPRA Finals.  Toughness obviously runs in the family.