Today at about 12:53 pm, Clackamas County 911 received a call reporting a rider had been thrown from her horse and was injured. The accident took place near her home in the Colton, Oregon area off of South Cox Road.
The rider was identified as Gemma Abraham, age 56, of Colton, Oregon. She is a very experienced horseback rider and familiar with the area. The horse rode into a hornets nest and was stung, throwing Gemma to the ground. The horse then rolled over Gemma.
Her riding companion was able to get to a location with cell reception to call 911.
The Colton, Molalla, and Estacada Fire Departments, Pacific NW Search and Rescue, LifeFlight, Air National Guard, AMR RAT Team, Oregon Department of Forestry, and the CCSO Posse assisted the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office Search and Rescue Team in the operation. The patient was reached at 2:34 pm.
Gemma was located, stabilized, and hand carried out on a litter to an awaiting ambulance and transported to OHSU with significant injuries. At this time she is in stable condition and being evaluated. She was transported out of the woods at 5:05 pm
At one point, the Air National Guard and LifeFlight were called to the location to assist with the extraction, but further assessment led to the decision to do the hand carry extraction.
The horse, Nombre, was uninjured in the accident.
Photos courtesy Estacada Eagle.
News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff’s Office