Influencer hospitalised for traumatic brain injury after horse falls on her at Arizona ranch

Emmie Sperandeo, a social media influencer known for her Western lifestyle content, has been hospitalised after suffering from a horse-related injury.

The 27-year-old influencer, who goes by @steadyrein on TikTok, was injured last week in Arizona when the horse she was riding “spun and fell on top of her,” her father, Marino Sperandeo, told Phoenix-based news station KTVK. “She was holding on to the horse and was whip-lashed by the horse as it fell sideways. That caused her head to hit the floor,” he said.

According to the GoFundMe campaign set up to help cover her medical bills, Emmie was airlifted to a trauma centre on 15 May. In addition to suffering two skull fractures from the incident, she was also bleeding from her ears when she arrived unconsious at the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).

Emmie was already healing from a concussion and broken finger injury that occurred just one month prior, when she was thrown from a bucking horse, her father said.

On 19 May, doctors said that Emmie had stabilised and had regained consciousness for brief periods of time, an update on her GoFundMe page read.

“She’s a tough kid but she’s got a long road ahead of her,” her father said, adding that all she can remember are memories from seven to 14 years ago.

Three days later, her family shared that Emmie was stable enough to move from the ICU to the neurological ward where she’ll undergo both speech and physical therapy. However, her sister Natalie said in a message on her GoFundMe page that Emmie ”still is unable to comprehend why she’s here, or why people are writing to her.”

As of Thursday (25 May), more than $186,000 has been raised to reach the family’s $250,000 goal for rehabilitation fees and animal care expenses.

“To everyone who loves Emmie – thank you for thinking of her and sending her the strength that she will need to recover,” read a message on the fundraising page.

Emmie Sperandeo has 1.6m followers on TikTok, where she posts videos working on ranches and travelling throughout the US. Most recently, she had documented her journey from Montana to Arizona.

“Praying for you!!!!!” one fan commented on her last TikTok video before the horse-related accident.

“You have been a role model for me for so long and I am wishing you a speedy recovery,” another fan said.