Lauren Robson will never forget the tragic events of July 2, 2022. She hopes Feb. 15, 2024 will represent a much-needed turnaround.
Robson was working in a barn at Classic Mile Training Complex in Ocala, Fla., when a trainer raced to get her in a golf cart. “Come quick,” he said. “This is really bad.”
Robson arrived to find her husband, Rudy Delguidice, lying on the track. “I broke my neck,” he calmly told her. “I’m paralyzed.”
“You don’t know that,” she replied. “You don’t know that.”
She felt his arm. Nothing. His chest. Nothing. His legs. Nothing.
Delguidice, a jockey from 1976-'92, had been aboard a 2-year-old filly for an easy gallop when she spotted a pool of water and propped. He fell, landing awkwardly. He did not have to be a doctor to know that every rider’s worst nightmare had occurred. He was indeed paralyzed from the waist down, forever changing his life and that of his wife.
They moved to Miami so he could focus on his rehabilitation at the Christine Lynn Rehabilitation Center. Every therapy session represents an immense struggle.
“It’s a battle. I’ve had some tough days,” Delguidice said. “When you’re competing at anything, it takes an unbelievable mindset. But to deal with this, when you’ve been a very active person and now they tell you you’ve got to sit in a chair all day, you have to push yourself mentally and keep fighting.”
Robson is encouraged by the baby steps her husband is taking in his determination to become as independent as possible. “He’s a lot stronger. He’s got more range of motion than he had,” she said. “He has slight feeling in parts of his hands, the thumb and the index finger, the top part.”
She remained at her husband’s side day after stressful day for the first seven months. Then it was time to go back to working with horses, something she knew so well.
Robson had been riding since she was four years old. She had come to the United States from her native England in 2004 and worked as an assistant to such luminaries as Jonathan Sheppard, Wesley Ward, and Jerry Hollendorfer. She had ridden for Todd Pletcher. She had marveled at the attributes of each of them and taken mental notes, accumulating a wealth of knowledge.
Delguidice had enjoyed success as a breeder and pinhooker following his retirement as a jockey. He is well known in the industry for his keen eye for a horse. She realized they could make great use of their combined talents if she began training on her own.
Which brings us to Feb. 15, 2024, the day Robson broke through with her first victory after 10 starts. With good family friend John Velazquez aboard, Jabran took a five-furlong maiden claiming race on Gulfstream Park’s Tapeta surface.
Robson held her breath afterward because Jabran had been made available for a $35,000 claiming price. She exhaled when he was not claimed because, with the help of groom Joe Horton, she only oversees two horses at Barn 23 at Gulfstream. Her other runner, British Empress, a 4-year-old daughter of Classic Empire, still seeks her first win after five races.
Robson, 41, is eager to grow her stable to at least 10 to 12 horses. Given her background, she does not doubt her ability to bring out the best in whatever stock she is given.
“I’ve got an edge that I do get on my own horses. I’ve got a lot of experience from the right trainers,” she said. “I felt very confident and comfortable training horses right away.”
With Robson on horseback and Delguidice on the ground, they form a potentially dynamic combination. “She’s got such a great feel for a horse,” Delguidice said. “She feels what I see, but it’s always good to reiterate.
In a sense, Delguidice’s time at the track is an important element in his otherwise rigorous rehabilitation regimen. “You sit there and you watch and it’s good for your mental health,” he said.
Robson views her husband’s feedback as invaluable. “He comes out to the track a few days a week. I’ll ask him how he thinks they look and run some things by him,” she said. “He was such a brilliant horseman and still is.
“I can’t wait to get him to the sales because he has a tremendous eye. It would be great for me and him. Hopefully, in time, we can try and buy a couple together,” she said, knowing the accident did not dash their dreams.
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