Jack Coady/Coady PhotographyTad Leggett at the IQHRA banquet

Leggett channeling his drive into a new direction

September 1, 2011 - Former jockey Tad Leggett is making baby steps as he recovers from a broken neck that not only ended his riding career, but threatened to take his life.

Right now, those baby steps largely come with assistance. He uses a walker with assistance and he can ride his horse when his sons help him get in the saddle.

That's already a major leap from Leggett's condition when he was injured in a spill following a June 30, 2010 race at Fair Meadows in Oklahoma. He required nine hours of surgery and was listed in critical condition initially.

"I've accomplished things already some of the doctors thought I wouldn't," Leggett, 46, said. "One doctor in ICU told my wife that I'd never come off a ventilator maybe. And I'm breathing on my own, thank God.

"I can walk on a walker for a little bit with assistance," Leggett said. "My upper body is real strong. My legs are getting stronger. If I have something to hold on to, I can stand up on my own."

Leggett won more races, 429, than any other quarter horse rider at Prairie Meadows and won 1,432 races overall in his career. He returned to the track last weekend to be honored at the Iowa Quarter Horse Racing Association's annual banquet.

He said he doesn't remember the first 30 days after he was injured. And he credits his faith and his wife, Tina, with helping him persist.

“It's been tough," he said. "I thank the Lord Jesus and I have a good family. I'd be barefoot without my wife. My wife's an RN and she's sat through it all."

Tina Leggett said her husband has showed strength all through the recovery process.

"He's very strong person and he's not a person who will ever give up," she said. "He doesn't feel sorry for himself. He's very strong-minded and he's handled it like a champ.”

By Dan Johnson - Prairie Meadows