ROUNDUP — Against all odds following a horrific accident, Q2's Athlete of the Week is literally back on her horse, albeit a different one.
"I still have a divot in the back of my head," 75-year-old Melody Bilden explained to MTN Sports.
Three years ago, Bilden, who lives south of Roundup, was at a draft horse meeting in Twin Bridges when her horse, tied to a trailer, got spooked.
"He pulled back and the rope broke. He had blinders on, so he didn't know I was behind him," she said.
What happened next was unthinkable.
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"He flipped over backwards,” she explained, “(Friends) tell me he got tangled in the lines and flipped over a second time.”
The accident happened before noon, but Bilden has no recollection of events up to the night before. Her body was crushed. She was airlifted to Bozeman, then to Billings Clinic, where she remained unconscious for nine days and was hospitalized for 45 in all.
"Seventeen broken ribs. I've got 19 plates in my chest and my back," Bilden said.
Those plates still squeeze her upper body today, leaving her short of breath at times, even while talking. The divot in the back of her head is a reminder of the traumatic brain injury she suffered, which still lingers.
Fourteen days after the accident — her first day off a respirator — she was pictured with longtime best friend Roz Robinson in the hospital.
Friends in the horse community signed get-well wishes on an empty feed bag, one she keeps today.
Before the accident, Bilden's passion was showing horses professionally. Now she's riding again — on smaller horses.
"I do trail rides now," she said with a smile.
Her horse is a 16-year-old Haflinger named Annie, who has only one eye — a detail that has forged a unique bond between the two.
"When you get older you don't want to throw that harness up as high and a Haflinger is just the right size. We're both kind of on the mend," she said with a laugh.
Her energitic dog is a constant companion, and Bilden herself remains as active as ever. She serves as commissioner of Big Sky State Games equestrian, co-commissioner of the upcoming draft horse show at MontanaFair, and continues to judge competitions nationwide.
"Horse shows and 4H shows and state fairs all over the country," she said.
The brain trauma ended her school bus driving career in Roundup, but Bilden still manages a way to stay behind the wheel.
"Now I'm still part-time school bus driver, but now in a suburban rather than a big rig," she said with a smile.
Three years ago on the morning of that horrific accident, to imagine Bilden would be this active today would’ve been a big ask.
"I know people — and you read about it all the time — who die from horse accidents,” she said. “My surgeon said, 'If your heart had not been as strong as it was for a woman your age … you probably wouldn't have made it.”
