Union Grove teen finds way back into horse’s saddle after devastating wrecks

UNION GROVE, Texas (KLTV) - An East Texas teen left with quadriplegia from a horrific accident is now living a dream by riding a horse on her own.

It has been a long road of rehabilitation for a 15-year-old Union Grove girl, but one that is much brighter for her now.

Lexi Moore was in two separate auto accidents before she was 10 years old, with the second one leaving her wheelchair bound.

“I had a car accident when I was 4 years old that paralyzed me, and I had another car accident that re-injured me at 9 years old,” she says.

We were with her when she got her service dog five years ago. But she always had a love of horses, and wanted to find a way to ride again.

“I came across this movie named Walk-Ride Rodeo; the girl in the movie, she got paralyzed in a car accident and I saw that and said if somebody else like me could do it, I wanted to be able to ride a horse,” Lexi says.

That opportunity presented itself when her grandmother discovered a specially designed saddle.

“I did some research on the internet and found this company that specially made handicapped saddles for people with disabilities, and the man who makes it is in a wheelchair, as well,” said grandmother Patti Blaylock.

It’s called a ‘bird saddle.’ It’s specially designed to hold Lexi in, and then she holds the reins in the fingers of her right hand.

Now Lexi takes her horse, named Tonka, for regular rides in open country.

“It’s being able to do something that somebody else can do, regardless of your situation,” Moore says.

“To see the smile on her face and the satisfaction that she’s accomplished her goal, is worth everything,” says Blaylock.

For Lexi it’s the freedom that riding has given her.

“Feels great. You just feel free. Like nothings stopping you. That’s the best part I think for me,” she says.

Lexi even rode solo in the Ore City Christmas parade.

Copyright 2023 KLTV. All rights reserved.