The Green Braid, How One Equestrian is Honoring a Fallen Friend

By: Brittany Bevis

Black, brown, gray, white… there are plenty of shades to choose from when selecting yarn to braid your hunter’s mane. While the more traditional choice is a color that matches the mane, there are more adventurous competitors who venture further into the rainbow with deep purple, navy blue, or maroon.

Typically, on the breed circuit, it’s more common to see matching yarn with perhaps one colored braid as an accent. Bright blue is a popular choice for good luck, while others incorporate their barn colors.

When we saw Kelley Mundrick’s braids for the recent Stars N Stripes and Big A horse show in Conyers, Georgia, we knew there had to be a reason she chose bright green. As it turns out, Mundrick’s choice of hue didn’t have to do her fashion sense or personal style. She chose green to honor a friend and fellow equestrian who’s recovering from a traumatic brain injury.

“Early on the afternoon on June 8th, my friend, Brenden Lee, had just finished riding his new, 2-year-old filly and was walking her to cool her off,” Kelley says. “Another young horse came by and swooshed its tail in her face. Her reaction was to shy away quickly. Brenden tried pulling her around, but she lost her balance and fell over on him.”

An unconscious Brenden was life-flighted straight from the arena to The Medical Center of Plano in Texas, while Kelley, Brenden’s parents, and horse trainer, Dave Archer, and family, Courtney, Ernie, and Mims, rushed to the hospital to be by his side. Kelley describes the experience as being one of the scariest days of her life.

“Brenden’s body had no broken bones or any other major issues… it was his brain. His brain had major trauma when he hit the ground; it’s basically like a sling shot or the end of the whip being struck. During the three days I got to spend with him in the hospital, before I had to fly home, he never opened his eyes and never spoke. He did nothing except move some body parts, and he seemed to get very frustrated he could not communicate. Even if he could have spoke, he had a breathing tube, a tracheotomy, and then a feeding tube, so he couldn’t speak even if he tried. It was such a scary sight. Head trauma is so unique per case, and the brain is so fragile.”

Now, nearly a month after the accident, Brenden is on the long road to recovery, which includes daily speech and physical therapy at the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. His doctors are impressed with the progress he has made thus far, and his family and friends are hopeful he will be back in the saddle in about a year.

“The doctors have said that he has improved tremendously and is really ahead of schedule for the severity of the injury. He is a tough one for sure!” she says.

By her simple gesture of keeping one green braid (the color for head trauma awareness) in her show horse’s mane, Kelley is hoping Brenden will know that all of his friends at the barn are thinking of him and counting the days until he returns.

“I originally got the idea to do something with green after Dave Archer wore a green ribbon while showing at the Appaloosa Nationals,” she says. “I want to keep him in a positive mood and fighting hard for his future by letting him know that I haven’t forgotten about him, even though I can’t be by his side all the time. Sometimes, I think that once friends and family know a person is going to be alright after an accident, people tend to forget that they really need the most support to keep on fighting through week after week of rehabilitation.”

 “I feel as if our barn family has come together to offer support for Brenden’s family and each other. It was easy to become negative about the situation, but at the end of the day, positivity and faith won. Brenden is alive.”

Once Brenden regained the ability to type, he posted a brief message on Facebook, “There are definitely some things I’m going to change this go-round.” Similarly, Kelley feels this experience has shown her how truly short life is and how things can change in an instant.

“His parents’ faith in God inspired me through this entire process, which was a lesson I learned… never lose faith,” she says. “When I had to say goodbye to him, to fly home, I was the one crying while his Mom comforted ME because she had faith in God’s plans.”

“Now, I text him and have even gotten to Facetime with him. He has gotten to go see his horses as well. I’m so proud of my friend because he is overcoming this obstacle. I know, once he is ready, he will be back in the arena kicking butt, so watch out!”

Meanwhile, Kelley plans to keep a green braid in her horse’s mane for the upcoming NSBA World Show, so Brenden can be there in spirit, if not in person.