Exercise riders at Churchill Downs honor Callie Witt

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Fellow work out riders at Churchill Downs honored and remembered 20-year-old Callie Witt, the exercising rider who died after getting thrown from a horse at Keeneland past Friday.

The tragic accident occurred Friday morning on Keeneland’s education keep track of, wherever Witt was thrown into the air from a two-year-old unraced horse who became spooked. Witt died soon later on, in accordance to Keeneland officers.

On Thursday early morning, exercise trainers at Churchill Downs wore white armbands symbolizing their remembrance of Witt.

Witt was from Nebraska, and examined at Bluegrass Community and Specialized Faculty.

Riders had been discovered sporting the armbands by WAVE Information for the duration of Sunrise at the Downs protection on Thursday.

“It’s just a tough predicament, but the work out riders out here preferred to honor her,” WAVE Information anchor Connie Leonard explained.

“There are so several,” WAVE Athletics contributor Jody Demling mentioned. “That’s the tricky portion. There are so many. I consider this is something that has began. And it’s a thing that will mature as the weeks go on.”

(Tale carries on below)

Keeneland officers reported Witt desired to be a jockey. She started off as an intern at Keeneland before going into a total-time physical exercise rider.

Witt experienced been working for exercising trainer Joe Sharp. Sharp’s spouse, Rosie Napravnik, spoke with WAVE News on Wednesday about Witt’s demise.

“We’re all right here with accepting the truth that this is how harmful this activity is,” Napravnik said. “There’s actually no text to specific how tragic this decline is, but the only issue that we as a barn, as Joe’s barn, ended up able to acquire absent from it was that Callie — this was all she wanted to do.”

Copyright 2022 WAVE. All rights reserved.