VICTORY STABLES RIDE FOR THE CURE
How A Young Girl Transformed Her Post Traumatic Stress to Post Traumatic Growth
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BY HANA VOZZO
n October 9th, 2023, Victory Stables, located in Colts Neck, New Jersey, participated in Ride for the Cure, an equestrian event to raise money for the Komen Foundation, which supports breast cancer research. The annual ride takes place in Vermont, but when 13-year-old Suhaila O’Dowd was scrolling through the Dover Saddlery website, looking for a new saddle to try to convince her parents to buy her for her birthday, she saw an advertisement for the Ride for the Cure event scheduled to take place in about a week’s time and wondered if she and her riding
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coach, Adele Sessa, could organize a New Jersey ride for the next year. This cause is one that is close to home for the O’Dowd family, as Suhaila’s mother Nasheela, currently cancer-free, was diagnosed with breast cancer when Suhaila was 11 years old. Suhaila found out this life-altering news during the already chaotic quarantine days, and it marked the start of a difficult journey for her and her family. Having encountered many unknowns at such a young age, Nasheela smiled while remembering how her daughter handled everything with grace and kindness. Nasheela and Adele de-
