I had this in the blogs but because of the scammers and spammers I am deleting everything there and moving here.
Originally posted in the August issue of the ABRA News
A Heavenly Father: Kay Blandford Believes
“I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk through darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
The Tragedy
Indeed it was a tragedy that claimed the lives of Gail Shanahan and Maggie Green on the morning of May 26, 2002, but thank God their souls are just as full of life as ever. The odds took the two barrel racers away from us when the Interstate 40 bridge at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, was struck by a barge, causing it to collapse, taking with it the truck and trailer hauling Maggie, Gail, and four horses.
It didn’t take long for Kay Blandford to put the facts together. Kay recalled how the ladies had wanted to leave early that morning but hadn’t loaded up anything the night before. They were up at 6am and it took them an hour to get everything packed up and ready to go. “They left right at seven o’clock and the bridge went down at 7:48; that would put them right there,” Kay had thought. At 9am Kay’s good friend, Suzanne Moseley, called her to ask if she had heard from Gail and Maggie. Suzanne was on the verge of being upset that the girls hadn’t called to say they were okay! “Why didn’t they call us?” Suzanne asked Kay. When they didn’t answer their cell phones, Kay got a ride to the bridge.
At the time, nobody but reporters were around. The worst possible outcome was confirmed as Kay watched a crane lift her trailer out of the Arkansas River; the impact had separated her trailer from Maggie’s truck. The nightmare continued as the truck and the bodies of two of Kay’s best friends and the horses were pulled up. Kay was told that they definitely died instantly from the impact of the 70 foot drop; the only one drowning seemed to be herself, under a flood of emotions. Kay was also able to tell me that they were the third vehicle over and had not gotten stopped and “pushed” over as the rumors soon-after told. For some reason that came as a bit of a relief to know, maybe because it would mean that they experienced less mental anguish in the end.
Whatever the causes, the loss is no less painful. All we can do is guess that Heaven was suffering from a shortage of angels. Surely if you read about the other victims that were taken along with Gail and Maggie under the slimmest of circumstances that day, you would probably agree that that could have very well been the case. At least we can be thankful that they had the opportunity to enrich so many lives around them before they were needed elsewhere. Most likely, they will all continue to enrich many more lives.
Meet Gail and Maggie
By now, I’m sure many of you’ve already read a lot about their lives. But this article is going to attempt to show you what it was like to know Gail and Maggie through the eyes of someone who did, Kay Blandford, and tell you about some of their favorite memories that you probably haven’t read about.
Kay Blandford realizes how blessed she is to have known Gail and Maggie so well. For those of us who didn’t have that privilege, you may feel the same way I do, as if you’ve lost two sisters you never even got to meet. That grief is exactly what motivated me to call Kay. I wanted to get to know Gail and Maggie a little better.
Both Gail, 49, and Maggie, 47, were early risers and hard workers. She described both of them as “workaholics” and pleasurable to be around. Kay said Gail was the happiest she’s ever been after being engaged in December. And Maggie’s life was full of the love for and from her family, children, and grandkids.
Kay met Gail through barrel racing and futurities. They didn’t live very far apart and it didn’t take them long to become close friends, share ideas, and realize that they worked together really well. Gail was proud to say “I can train’em and she [Kay] can ride’em and win.” She wasn’t lying; Kay won $7,800 at the Fort Smith futurity on two horses that Gail trained.
Kay also told me that Gail was a jokester who was always up for a good laugh. Kay specifically recalled a day that they were relaxing at a water park. Kay can’t swim very well and hates to try, but they were both floating leisurely on intertubes until Gail came up behind her and flipped her tube. Kay said she started yelling for help, just knowing she was going to drown, until Gail calmly smiled “just stand up.” Well, Kay did and you can just picture the embarrassment when she realized that the water was barely waist deep! Obviously Gail never let Kay forget that one!
Kay distinctly remembers the first time she got to meet Maggie Green. She had helped a friend of Maggie’s, with a horse, who then recommended that Maggie seek Kay’s help as well. Before Maggie got to see Kay in person she saw a picture of her and figured it would be good for Kay to get on her horse because they were both about the same weight. The only problem was that 150 pounds was a bit of an overstatement for Kay! When Maggie saw Kay in person she was a bit embarrassed to admit that she had expected Kay to be “heavier”! Kay could only laugh and admire Maggie’s honesty. The first horse Kay ever rode for Maggie was a little black mare that she quickly advised Maggie to get rid of, and Maggie did.
Even though Maggie hadn’t ridden the last few years, the Fort Smith futurity was her annual vacation. She went to help Kay out with her horses and worked hard to make Kay’s job as easy as possible, but was always a lot of fun to be around. Kay liked to have Maggie warm Llave up for her and would simply oppose when Maggie would worry about ruining him. But she could always count on Maggie, both in this life and the next. Kay vividly recalls feeling Maggie helping her ride Llave to the first barrel during her winning run at the Fort Smith rodeo the night after the accident.
Faith Through Darkness
Kay said that the days following the accident were especially difficult. A constant reminder was the vacancy of her trailer, which sat next to where she rides every day. But she knows now that God didn’t “fill her plate” without a reason. She has the support of her friends and family, and of course a list of accomplished goals that any one of us would be thankful to show off. And most important of all, she can confidently claim “I know God loves me; I can smile because He’s going to show me the way.” For her many accomplishments Kay gives her “Glory to God.” He knew the desires of her heart and He has definitely filled her plate to the top.
Kay knows how fortunate she was to have been raised in a Christian household. She is next to the oldest of her three sisters and always remembers having a supportive, close family. When asked how God has proven Himself to her in her life she quickly responded, “this accident.” Gail and Maggie’s death woke Kay up to a world she always knew about and believed in, but sometimes overlooked as most of us do. It’s what I once heard referred to as being a “baby Christian”. When we believe, but still fail to truly give ourselves to the Lord. Kay admits that it’s really hard to read her Bible on a daily basis like she knows she should. “You get busy and tired,” Kay said, but now her advice is to “read the Bible; read the scriptures.” She stressed that each and every one of us needs to “Believe in God’s will; if you believe in God, you believe in yourself.”
“For whosoever saves his life for himself shall lose it, and whosoever loses their life for my sake shall save it.” (Matthew 16:25) Barrel racers are among the most independent women I know. Every day we get dirt under our fingernails feeding horses, hauling hay, cleaning stalls, carrying water, etc., and we demand perfect obedience from animals that are ten times our weight! It may be hard to really, fully, and completely trust another with every part of our mind, soul, body, and heart, especially another whom we can’t even see and scientists can’t explain. But Kay Blandford doesn’t need an explanation. Her proof came to her from the inside-out when the presence of Gail and Maggie’s souls was so strong that she knew without a doubt she was not the only barrel racer running Llave that day. She knows in her heart that God does exist and that Gail and Maggie are “home.”
Our souls are only here for a limited time. One day, if we’re lucky, we’ll get to trade in these frail human bodies for ones that don’t get sick, ache with pain, or die. However, the path is narrow through the righteous Gate; we should only be jealous of those fortunate souls who get the green light to continue into a world we are all struggling to search for, where Love and Truth rein for eternity. As for Kay, God still has an unknown purpose and a divine use for this witness. She’s on a journey to who knows where but through light and through darkness she knows God will give her the strength she needs, and she’s not ashamed or embarrassed to tell the whole world that He will get her through… How about you?
Christin Michelle Brown
