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economist suntribune regional news saturday march 4 2000 group lobbies for tougher riding laws by joan ransberry staff writer one aurora councillor believes the death of 10yearold elizabeth hader was not in vain the aurora girl was killed when her head hit a rock as a horse dragged her about 150 metres at the wagon wheel ranch in whitchurchstouffville april 18 but aurora councillor phyllis morris said after a threemember delegation from aurora and whitchurchstouffville made an emotional pitch to three mpps and a ministry representative at queens parkthursday she thinks it is only a matter of time before legislation is put in place to protect horseback riders across the province we came away with a sense of accomplishment morris said the provincial government was asked to bring forward standard ized legislation to license and regu late safety standards for all com mercial horse riding establishments operating within ontario the appeal also included amending the municipal act to per mit local municipalities to not only license but also to regulate safety standards for any commercial horse riding establishment as well the york regiondelega- tion wants the province to make it mandatory to have horse riding establishments carry liability insur ance atoronto woman was also wait ing for the results of this meeting patricia shaws 12yearold son was killed in 1985 after falling from a horse in beaverton while a cornerjs jury into jamie shaws death recommended that helmet laws be brought forward none were shaw hopes the latest appeal will be different it will stressed morris it looks as if elizabeth hader and jamie shaw didnt die in vain morris said as well the childrens deaths will be the catalyst behind another appeal scheduled for march 20 while the hader family wait for the inquest into their daughters death to get under way to be deter- mined after the criminal charges are dealt with paul hader has made a public appeal that manda tory helmets be put in place as well to show support for a elizabeth hader 10yearold died in horseback ridingaccident at whitchurch- stouffville ranch municipal bylaw covering horse riding establishments paul arid lori hader attended council meet ings in both aurora and whitchurchstouffville the bylaw now in place carries a 5000 fine elizabeths parents took com fort in the fact that things are mov ing along morris said like us they want acrosstheboard unifor mity to help ensure safety for all of ontario helmets and riding gear factored into elizabeths death while riding a fouryearold gelding at musselmans lakes wagon wheel ranch elizabeths foot got caught in a stirrup while the child struck her head on a rock and was dragged to her death her helpless parents and a sibling watched in horror the owner of the ranch and an employee are facing criminal charges in connection with the childs death at the time of the accident resi dents of york region were shocked to learn that riding establishments in ontario arent subject to munici pal or provincial regulations soon after elizabeths death the towns of aurora whitchurch- stouffville and georgina adopted a bylaw making it mandatory for chil dren to wear helmets and proper footgear even though the province is now involved morris will still ask richmond hill markham and eventually king township and east gwillimbury to adopt a similar- bylaw as well other municipalities across ontario are now contacting aurora to find out how to proceed with such a riding establishment bylaw theres lots of interest teing shown morris said at thursdays meeting morris accompanied by aurora cao bob panizza and whitchurchstouffville clerk michele kennedy met with local mpps including frank klees john 6toole and julia munro and a representative of the minister of consumer and commercial relations dave tsubouchi they were sensitive and seemed committed to the cause morris said its now a matter of when and not just if kennedy was also impressed with the meeting they seemed interested in mandatory insurance if a riding establishment doesnt have things in place their insur ance could be revoked kennedy said there are however pitfalls some municipalities in ontario are too small to adequately enforce such a bylaw kennedy said tammy reidtaylor one step closer to home friends and strangers rally to support taylor family by kathleen griffin staff writer tammy reidtaylor is her parents little miracle the 30yearold slowly emerged from a sevenmonth coma last february after a horseback riding accident in vancouver last summer damaged her brainstem doctors had told her parents sylvia and dave taylor of markham that reidtaylor might never recover the doctors gave us litde hope sylvia taylor said they felt she had gone as far as she would go but the lord does wonderful things tammy has come a long way reidtaylor began coming out of the coma very gradually it was just different little things she began communicating with her eyes or small movements we knew what was hap- pening taylor said today reidtaylor is talking she has full use of her legs and her left side while her rightside movement is coming on strong shes learning how to walk again and can lift herself in and out of her wheelchair she has recovered her longterm memory although her shortterm memory is still shaky her mom said told she would be deaf in one ear for life reidtaylofs hearing has returned to nor mal on monday doctors removed her feed ing tube and shes beginning to feed herself again its a walk you cant describe for people unless they have walked it taylor said the path the lord has made for her is going very slowly we just have to be patient a gruelling regimen of physical occupa tional and speech therapy at the queen elizabeth hospital where reidtaylor has been in a rehabilitation program since dec 10 fills her days she works so hard taylor said and its very hard for her to stay there she just wants to come home that day is coming taylor said but how soon no one can tell we just take it one day at a time she said tammy keeps our spirits up she and her sister tasha have kept mom and dad going the taylors have had more than their share of grief and frustration in the last year reidtaylor had been living in vancouver for two years at the time of the accident when the hospital out west told the taylors their daughter would have to be moved toa longterm care facility they began to realize what they were up against in trying to bring her home no hospital would take her because she wasnt an ontario resident after the taylors made their story public dan carriere president of york county hospital and local mpp frank klees began working together to find a hospital bed and staff photosjoerd witteveen tammy reidtaylor and her mom sylvia at the rehabilitation institute of toronto on dunn avenue they did still the schedule is brutal its made worse by the distance taylor said i work mornings in aurora then im downtown through the evening we dont eat dinner until 9 pm at the earliest its a lot of travelling were hoping shell be accepted in the new wing at york central opening in may she said support from family and friends and the taylors strong faith help them cope what people have done for us is won derful taylor said citing the fact the national bereavement association recently donated a fully equipped dodge caravan so they can bring reidtaylor home for visits and she can attend church that made such a big difference before it was 100 each trip she said someone is with reidtaylor from the moment she gets up in the morning to the moment she goes to bed friends family and close members of the markham bible chapel take shifts shes aware of it and she needs that motivation taylor said and she needs that the system isnt there for that reidtaylors little sister tasha quit college to be near her and to help out mom and dad shell be starring an apprenticeship in hair- styling in uxbridge soon her proud mom said it was hardest on tasha as a sibling it took over a year of her life but they were best friends to start and she has really taken over the big sister role taylor credits reidtaylors recovery and the familys sense of peace to prayer god has to be there we can feel him there its what keeps us going day after day we keep smiling because the lord gives us the strength to be there fortamrny shes our little miracle w chrysler jeep 8280 woodbine ave markham south of hwy 7 west side 9054152260 service special ce of mind driving inspection i tire rotation suspension brake inspection electrical systeriv cooling system inspection check levels exhaust system inspection plus road test all this for only fmte