Cancer strikes this young professional, but she fights right back and reclaims her place in the winner’s circle.

From a distance, you might not notice anything different about professional rider and trainer Sandy Ferrell. But, if you can catch her for a moment in between her many rides or while taking a quick break between training her students, and if you look closely, you’ll see she now wears a pink bracelet on her wrist.

“Yes, this means a lot to me now,” said Ferrell, fingering the fund raising bracelet from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

That’s because Ferrell, 39, Bernville, Pa., is now a breast cancer survivor. After discovering several lumps in one of her breasts during the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit last spring, she had a double mastectomy in July and spent the summer recovering.

Ferrell returned to the show ring at the Maryland Horse & Pony Show, Sept. 14-17, and her second show back was the Middleburg Classic (Va.), Sept. 19-24, The Plains, Va., where she earned the second year green, the grand green and the grand hunter championships aboard Prime Time Stables’ Late Entry (see sidebar).

“It was great–a great way to come back,” she said smiling. “No matter the number of wins you have, having a show like this is a great confidence boost. Not every day is like this, so you have to appreciate them all the more.”

Awareness

Ferrell’s journey from discovering a problem to solving it took a familiar path–many doctors, tests, surgery and hospital visits. But one valuable lesson Ferrell hopes to relay to other women through this ordeal is to never take anything for granted. If you believe there might be a problem, pursue it until you’re satisfied you’ve explored every option.

At 35, Ferrell had a benign lump removed from one of her breasts, and her follow-up mammogram showed nothing else. This time, when she detected several lumps an ultrasound confirmed them, but the mammogram test was negative.

Nevertheless, Ferrell contacted a surgeon for a biopsy.

“Clinically speaking, we thought this was probably nothing,” said Ferrell. “After the biopsy, they said they’d call me within five days with the test results. But I got a phone call two days later. When I got to the doctor’s office, she says, ‘Did you come by yourself?’ I thought, ‘This doesn’t sound good.’ “

The biopsy revealed early stage (Stage 0) breast cancer. Even though she had cancer in just one breast, Ferrell chose to have both breasts removed to prevent any further problems from developing. After making her decision, Ferrell met with her doctor and a plastic surgeon and had everything scheduled within a week.

“I had surgery on July 11,” she said. “Having cancer didn’t scare me. Having surgery didn’t scare me. But I was afraid of having chemo. Your life changes so dramatically.”

Thankfully, the tissue biopsies done following her surgery–and the nearby lymph nodes–came back negative, meaning that it appeared the cancer hadn’t spread.

“In a lot of ways, I’m very lucky,” said Ferrell. “I had no further treatment, no chemo. All of my doctors concluded that, as for now, I’m cancer free. It was a difficult thing to accept, though. To one day have cancer and then one day after the surgery you don’t.

“My personality is such that I’ll always live with the thought process that it may come back,” she added. “I’m a big believer in expect the worst but hope for the best.”

Ferrell faces one additional surgery in November to complete the reconstruction process.

Renewal

Ferrell, like other survivors of serious illnesses, said the ordeal has changed her focus on life and living.

“Looking back, I think God used me as an example,” she said. “I’m energetic, I love to work hard and am in good shape. It’s good for people to know that ultimately that doesn’t mean everything. And it’s imperative for women to have regular check ups and to know that in certain situations the routine mammogram isn’t enough.

“In reality, I feel I have had the best case of a bad scenario,” she added. “My oncologist actually said, ‘You had a great case of a bad scenario–your body warned you four years earlier.’ “

Ferrell now wears her pink bracelet as a reminder to appreciate life and be grateful for each day.

“I’m not as intense about things now,” said Ferrell laughing. “And the amount of support and concern I received from people in the horse world was something I never would have imagined.”

Ferrell said that at one point she counted 65 flower arrangements in her house following her surgery.

“That support taught me a lot,” she said turning serious. “You always wonder who’s going to care or notice if you’re gone, and I had 100 percent backing from everyone. That brought out a softer side of me toward all of the people at the horse shows.”

D.J. Johnson knows all about Ferrell’s softer side too. The pair is engaged to be married, and Ferrell said she had intended to be married this summer until her illness interrupted their plans. Now, she hopes to be married before she leaves for the WEF.

“We’ll probably just go to the courthouse one day,” Ferrell joked. “There won’t be a big wedding, but there will be a lot of parties afterward!”

She credited Johnson for his positive outlook throughout her illness in helping her keep her spirits up. “He was, without a doubt, a fantastic nurse,” she said smiling.

Ferrell’s return to the saddle wasn’t as difficult as she’d initially thought because she didn’t sit still for long after her surgery. In fact, the day after returning home from the hospital she skipped down the stairs to greet her in-home nurse, who immediately wondered why she was there.

“I really didn’t want anyone to worry about me,” said Ferrell. “The fact that I was able to bounce back so quickly made it easier for everyone around me to move on.”

Ferrell was also touched that many of her clients and students at Royall Show Hunters chose to bypass the summer shows. “I have to give them a huge thanks,” said Ferrell. “I had asked them if they wanted to do something different for the summer, to train with someone else, but they all stuck by me and spent the summer at home. That meant the world to me.”

Now that Ferrell has returned to action, she’s looking forward to competing at the fall indoor shows. But she does have a new mission.

“I want to be someone people can talk to about breast cancer,” she said. “Maybe it’s a younger person or someone who is scared to talk about it. God used me for a reason. If there’s any way I can help someone else out, that would be a blessing.”

Late Entry Is Twice Grand

For the first time in the 14-year history of the Middleburg Classic Horse Show, one horse was crowned grand hunter champion and grand junior hunter champion. And by virtue of Late Entry’s many stellar performances, his connections took home an abundance of ribbons and awards, including six championship coolers.

Sandy Ferrell piloted the Holsteiner gelding (Coriano–Esmeralda VI) to the professional titles with 40 points in the second year green division, including three blues over fences. Then, owner Sarah Chovnick of Prime Time Show Stables competed “Corky” in the small junior, 15 and under, division over the weekend, also collecting three blue ribbons over fences and 36.5 points for the championship, grand small junior title and overall grand junior hunter award.

“He’s such a great horse,” said Ferrell. “I’ve had many successes with him–including the championship last week at the Maryland Horse & Pony Show. He came here and was so beautifully prepared. And he’s just one of those horses that when he’s on, he’s on. You can depend on him 100 percent.

“He’s also one of those horses you look at and you don’t necessarily expect brilliance. He’s very laid back,” she added. “But he walks in the ring each time and gives you brilliance. It’s a great feeling.”

Chovnick, 15, Middleburg, Va., began riding Corky this year and spent the summer getting to know him. “I think time has allowed us to grow, and we’ve really bonded now,” said Chovnick. “I always felt connected to him as a rider, but after I sold [my other junior hunter] in June I was able to spend more time with him.

“Here, he went so great,” she added. “There was something different about him this weekend. He’s a horse who’s very in tune with his surroundings, so I think after Sandy rode him and won all those awards, maybe he knew. He loves getting his picture taken, so maybe he knew that this was a special show.”

Despite a light show schedule together this year, Ferrell and Late Entry, based at Ginny Edwards’ Hidden Hollow in Upperville, Va., have an impressive record, including victory in the $45,200 AHJF Hunter Classic Spectacular of Palm Beach (Fla.), the featured hunter class on the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival circuit.

“Ginny does a phenomenal job training him, and Sarah does a great job riding him too,” said Ferrell. “It’s a true team effort.”

Likewise, Edwards couldn’t say enough about Ferrell’s impressive return to the show ring after her surgery and subsequent recuperation.

“Sandy is just a pleasure to work with,” said Edwards. “She’s one of the hardest working riders here. She rides Corky beautifully, and she has a great feel for each horse she rides and knows what each horse needs. Working with Sandy is a great learning experience–I learn something from her each day. It’s really amazing–and I’m exhausted just trying to keep up with her!”