The Wedding Gift of a Lifetime
Wedding photos by Eye of the Horse Photography.
Readers may remember the 2021 story of Caiti Gordon, entitled, “124 Days After Breaking My Neck, I Became a World Champion.”
Just when Caiti thought her irreplaceable horse, “Howie Dance,” who piloted her to her first world championship during her recovery couldn’t mean any more to her, what happened on her wedding day on April 5, 2025, took the cake.
By Delores Kuhlwein
Original story by Brittany Bevis Vermeer (link posted below)
“I was told that I was lucky to be breathing and to be able to walk,” Caitlin Gordon revealed to the Equine Chronicle back in July 2021 after she broke her neck in a freak riding accident.
That fateful Thursday night in early 2021 during group lessons, the Michigan horsewoman was riding one of her family’s mares and she noticed the English saddle she’d just cleaned in preparation for an upcoming show was squeaky. Then chaos broke out.
“Another gelding ran into the mare I was on, and she lost her balance. When she turned to gain her footing, the indoor wall was right there. My saddle slid to her left side, so I was pinched horizontally between the indoor wall and the mare,” Caiti explains.
Her resulting catastrophic injuries mirrored that of the late Christopher Reeve’s: broken C1, C2, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T7 vertebrae, but with a different outcome Caiti says she’s thankful for each day. “If I had ruptured my ligament, it would’ve been considered an internal decapitation.”
Despite a seemingly insurmountable hurdle just four months before the 2021 APHA World Show, the event she’d been striving for, Caiti was still determined to compete, even though the doctors weren’t so sure.
“I was in my halo until May 13th, two days before pre-entries were due. I visited with my neurosurgeon on May 14th after receiving my cervical collar, and he told me that he still didn’t know if I would be able to show. I paid my World Show entries because I was determined that I was going to make the haul to Texas, even if just for Amateur Walk Trot Showmanship.”
The Perfect Partner
The World Champion. Photo by Larry Williams.
As any equestrian knows, in order to show during such a significant recovery, her partner would need to be trustworthy, special, and reliable. As luck would have it, in 2018, her parents had purchased Howie Dance, a gelding by Invited To The Dance, for her to ride that show season while her other mare was getting trained. The duo finished that year as #1 Zone 8 Novice Amateur, and though “Howie” was supposed to be sold after their run, the horse that came to be known as “Mr. Reliable” stayed.
Photo by Jeff Kirkbride Photography.
Although they normally show together in Novice Amateur and Amateur all around events, Caiti elected to compete in the Amateur Walk-Trot division at the 2021 APHA World Show. “I wasn’t physically strong enough to hold a lope together for long enough, and running in Showmanship wasn’t an option because my neck was still too weak. I had a difficult enough time just keeping my balance in Showmanship pivots.”
Caiti and Howie hauled to Fort Worth on June 27th that year, and she came home with her first World Championship title. They were named World Champions, Intermediate Champions, and NSBA Champions in Amateur Walk Trot Equitation. They also placed third in Amateur Walk Trot Horsemanship, eighth in Amateur Walk Trot Trail, 10th in Amateur Walk Trot Hunter Under Saddle, and 15th in Amateur Walk Trot Showmanship.
Whether she’d claimed a world title or not, Caiti says, “I won by being able to make the trip and to get to show in the John Justin.”
Meant To Be
The partnership between Caiti and Howie is undeniable. Photo by Ryan Geiger Photography.
From 2018 forward, Howie remained in Caiti’s parents’ names, and the team never looked back, earning two World Championships, and countless high points, year-end, and top ten titles, says her mom, Melissa.
The same year Howie entered Caiti’s life, so did Brett Hatto, her long term partner, so on April 5, 2025, Brett and Caitlin married. When Jon Gordon had his first look at his beautiful daughter on her wedding day, he and Melissa then presented Caiti with a unicorn bag with a unicorn balloon tied to it. Inside was the wedding gift of a lifetime.
“Inside I found the APHA and PtHA papers for Howie Dance,” explains Caiti. “I’m pretty sure Dad knew that Howie was always going to have a stall at our farm and often told people his name might have been on Howie’s papers, but Howie was far from his horse. I will always be forever grateful to be gifted Howie.”
Her mom, Melissa, says Jon would never have sold Howie, but now, if she chooses, “She can go to another world show and hear Howie Dance owned and shown by Caitlin Gordon-Hatto.”
Caiti, this makes our hearts sing! We are so happy about your successful recovery, and your amazing journey.
Below, readers can find the original story by Brittany Bevis Vermeer from 2021:
124 Days After Breaking My Neck, I Became a World Champion | Equine Chronicle
