There had been no warning signs for Katelyn Gibson the day she collapsed at Blue Moon Stables from what’s being described as a “significant cardiac arrest,” said the owner of the horse-riding facility in Corydon.
Katelyn, 15, had finished riding a bit earlier and was with a friend walking to retrieve horses to set up for a group activity, Stacy Denton told the Hendersonian on Tuesday.
“And she just collapsed,” said Denton, adding that Katelyn had not complained of feeling bad and was not on a horse or with a horse at the time of her collapse.
Her friend then screamed for help and the three employees—including Denton—working at the stables at the time sprinted to her and began CPR. Denton said they arrived to Katelyn within 90 seconds. All three are CPR-certified, Denton said.
They also used a defibrillator on Katelyn, delivering a shock three times, Denton said. She said that 911 Dispatch guided them throughout the time they were administering help to Katelyn.
Katelyn never regained any consciousness before the ambulance arrived to take her to the hospital. This was on Sept. 6.
On Sept. 10, Katelyn died.
Katelyn was born with a congenital heart defect and was under the care of a Vanderbilt University Hospital cardiologist her whole life, Denton said. In fact, Katelyn wore a smart watch that allowed her to monitor her heart, and Denton said on the day of her collapse, there had been no warning signs from her watch.
“There were zero signs on the day it happened,” she said. “She had no indication she was in danger.”
Additionally, 30 days earlier, she’d had an appointment with a cardiologist, who said Katelyn could continue doing all the activities she participated in, Denton said.
Katelyn started going to Blue Moon when she was 7 years old. Denton described her as a very good rider who liked to jump. Her favorite horse was Pinocchio.
More than that, Katelyn saw her future career as equine veterinarian, and Denton said Katelyn always wanted to know more about every aspect of horses. From injuries to rehabilitation to giving shots, “She wanted to be a part of it,” Denton said.
Katelyn was witty and sarcastic, sometimes stubborn and hard-headed—a believer in debate. “She definitely enjoyed a battle of wills,” Denton said with a laugh, adding that was one reason those at Blue Moon loved her.
On Sept. 13, all county schools wore blue Friday to honor Katelyn, who was a Henderson County High School sophomore.
Katelyn was active in HCHS’s FFA program, where current Assistant Principal for the Career and Technical Education J.T. Payne got to know her last year.
Payne said Katelyn was confident and that was on display at an FFA horsemanship competition last year in which she, a freshman, went up against many upperclassmen. Payne, who said he doesn’t know much about horsemanship, said he came out of a meeting before the event and reported back to Katelyn the specifics he learned in the meeting that she needed to do.
Her response, he said, was, “I’ve got it under control.” And then she went out and beat a lot of those upperclassmen.
Payne said FFA and others at the high school have been thinking of ways to honor Katelyn. He said it was students’ idea for schools to wear blue for her on Friday. They chose blue because Katelyn spent much of her time at Blue Moon Stables, where she trained, rode and worked with horses. Blue, as well as gold, are the colors for FFA.
The family is asking in lieu of flowers people donate to Healing Reins, a local volunteer fire department of the Henderson County FFA.
Payne said the donations to the HCHS FFA will go toward establishing a scholarship in Katelyn’s honor.
To read Katelyn’s obituary, click here.
(This article is an update of an article that was published on Sept. 14)
