A former San Jose horse jockey has turned a terrible accident on the race track into a lifetime of giving, and now countless others are benefitting from his perseverance and commitment to helping his community.
Armando Rivera is 62 years old and a paraplegic. But his upper body strength is probably better than most people half his age.
"It was a freak accident. I was working a horse and somehow, we ended up having two horses collide," Rivera said."I went down and he rolled on top of me. It fractured my spinal cord, a T5.""When you're a jockey, you know those are the risks. You already knew the risks were death, injury. You already knew that. It's nobody's fault."
The late Gary Kerr was a pioneering paraplegic athlete, famous around the world as the fastest person in a wheelchair. Kerr would often visit and inspire recent accident victims in the hospital. He died in 2012 at the age of 58.Kerr died in 2012. Since then, Rivera has traveled around the country, competing in marathons, half marathons, and 10Ks. All the while, he was raising awareness and money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, which has raised $2.6 million nine years.
In July, Armando will be honored by th Valley Health Foundation by leading off their Stars and Strides run at Discovery Meadow.
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