An inspirational rehabilitation aside, Terry Houghton rides again.
By BRANT JAMES
Published December 13, 2003
OLDSMAR - Terry Houghton doesn't remember those wretched few seconds. Maybe it's better that way.
What he does remember is the aftermath, the 15 months of re-educating his brain and his body to be the old Terry, the father, the son, the jockey who has more than 3,000 wins and $2.5-million in earnings.
He always remembered how much he missed it.
Sixteen months since being kicked in the back of the head after being thrown from his mount in an allowance race at Great Lakes Downs in Michigan, the 33-year-old will return to racing today at the scene of some of his greatest success, Tampa Bay Downs.
The moment is more than symbolic for Houghton. When he throws his leg over the back of a filly named Naughty Dreadlocks for the first race on Opening Day, he, too, will be starting anew. Not just the season, but his life.
"That first race is when I'm going to be the most antsy," said Houghton, who won two riding titles at Tampa Bay Downs. "Once I get through that, it's all going to be smooth and everything can go back to the way it was."
It very nearly ended that afternoon in Muskegon when Houghton's mount clipped heels with another horse and threw him to the dirt. As a horse veered outside to miss him, its hoof impacted the back of Houghton's skull, slamming his brain forward into the front of his skull and then to the back, causing a serious concussion and severe bleeding.
"From the CAT scan they took that first night, you would assume it was from a person who was dead or a vegetable," Houghton said. "Two weeks after the injury, they were looking at the MRI expecting to see a patient who couldn't walk or talk. I didn't want to believe it. When I got out of the hospital I figured I would be riding in a week."
Houghton had gotten away lucky, but not without repercussions. His peripheral vision was almost gone and his center was blurred. His speech was impaired. Worst still was his memory loss.
"I was losing names of people I had known from grade school," he said. "Once I heard the name, I would say, "Man, I knew that.' Even foods. My Mom asked me if I wanted broccoli or cauliflower and I didn't know the difference anymore. I had to ask her the color. I ended up telling her I wanted green."
Houghton had four-hour rehabitation sessions three times a week at home in Muskegon, completely relying on his sister and mother until he could drive.
"You didn't know how bad it was until you were with him more," said his mother, Claudia. "I'd seen him break bones before. When it's broken, it's broken, it's right there. When it's in the head, it's just ... heartbreaking."
Houghton's life was saturated with heartbreak that long winter. He and his wife, Rikki, were going through a divorce - though amicable - and he was unable to see his daughters, Ashley, 7, and Alyssa, 2, because they had moved to Kentucky and he was unable to fly or drive from Muskegon.
Houghton also had group counseling sessions to come to terms with that fact that his neurologists might be right. He might never ride again.
"I think those were good for him, to get up and talk it out," Claudia Houghton said. "He's usually quite shy. I think that comes from me. He talks more now than he ever has."
Increasingly, there are good things. Though he still "needs to write things down every once in a while," his mother said, Houghton finished rehabilitation in November and soon drove to Tampa to work horses and show trainers he was fit and ready to earn their business again. As good as Houghton had been, he was not going to ride until the trainer was sure he had fully recovered.
"It was good to get down here and let everyone see me," Houghton said. "Everyone here kind of comes from all over and if they hadn't seen me maybe they think I'd be a little iffy. When they see me they know I'm okay."
Kathleen O'Connell is convinced. The trainer had Houghton work horses on Friday and has him on three horses this weekend.
"It's like an inner instinct with Terry," she said. "I don't think he's lost a thing. We all worry about his health, but it's a personal decision and you have to respect it.
"I guess he has the typical jockey attitude where anything could happen at any time. A friend of mine's brother served two tours in Vietnam and came home and got run over by a bus."
Though before his accident he had considered leaving Tampa Bay Downs for the higher-profile Kentucky circuit, and purchased a house in Kentucky to be nearer his daughters, he considers Tampa Bay Downs his racing home more than before.
"I've got a lot of respect for this place," he said. "I appreciate the caringness of people here. I got a lot of calls and had people checking on me. It was good. Coming back and being able to see everyone made me feel good."
