Update situation Courtney King

Bad luck has plagued Courtney King-Dye in the last six months, as two of her top horses had to be put down, but yesterday fate dealt a far worse blow when a fall left the Olympic dressage rider in a coma.

"It's not good," said her worried mentor, Lendon Gray, who has been keeping a vigil with Courtney's husband and father as the 32-year-old equestrian lies unconscious in St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

Courtney was injured Wednesday while schooling a horse in Loxahatchee, about a half-hour from Wellington, near the grounds where the Palm Beach Dressage Derby is being held this weekend.

Recounting the accident, Lendon said of the horse, "We think one hind foot stepped on the other and he sort of semi sat down and tipped over sideways. She was basically under him; she stayed in the tack and obviously her head hit the ground."

Paramedics were on the scene quickly and Courtney, who had suffered a skull fracture, was taken by helicopter to the hospital.

"Overnight the pressure on her brain went down," Lendon reported. That was the good news. But she said a neurologist had no idea when Courtney might wake up. "She could wake up right now or it could be weeks or even months."

Added Lendon, "we're just crossing our fingers and praying like mad."

Mary Anne McPhail, executive director of the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, said the organization has started a fund to aid Courtney in her medical emergency. Courtney had been scheduled to ride Don Principe in the Derby's Prix St. Georges tomorrow.

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