(FOUNTAIN, Colo.) — Marley Doyle, a youth equestrian, has been riding since she was nine months old. She is currently ranked no. 2 in the world in equitation, but her journey has not always been easy.
In October 2021, she was practicing with her horse at the time when she got bucked off and broke her pelvis in three places.
“I don’t think any of us expected it to happen. I’d been showing and riding this horse for about three years at the time. Her and I had a really good connection. We still do. And we really just knew the ins and outs of each other,” said Doyle.
Before going to physical therapy in hopes of getting back in the saddle, her parents brought her some joy and surprised her with her dream horse she got to call her own for the first time ever.
“He was everything that I wanted in a horse and could never have dreamed of, and I only got to show him once and that was at our World Championships. And then two weeks after we got back he got really hurt,” said Doyle.
That is when she had to make the choice to end his suffering, as there was nothing else she or the veterinarians could do.
After losing her partner in crime, Doyle didn’t let that stop her from pursuing her dream. She continued physical therapy and in January 2022, she was introduced to Topper, the first horse she rode after she was cleared to ride again.
“A week after I started walking on my own again without crutches or anything, I got the opportunity to show Topper or ride him and we’ve just been a good team ever since.”
After everything she has been through, her mom has been with her every step of the way.
“She’s tougher than she ever thought she was. I’m not sure that she necessarily knows that all the time, but she’s pretty tough and she can take it and go through a lot and still come out better on the other side for it,” said Sarah Caudill, Marley’s mother.
Marley will be competing in the world championships as a youth for the last time beginning on Aug. 24, and after that, she plans to go into the amateur division and progress into higher levels of equitation.
