LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some members in the equine industry plan to pay tribute to a fallen exercise rider.
Callie Witt, 20, died Friday after she was thrown from a horse while riding at Keeneland.
The track said it happened just after 8 a.m. while she was on a 2-year-old horse trained by Joe Sharp.
Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said the horse shifted her stride, which caused Witt to be dismounted and land on the inner synthetic training track material.
She died at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital of blunt force injuries. Medical officials said the horse was evaluated and had no signs of unsoundness or injury.
While the death falls during a busy week at Churchill Downs, rider Isabella Leslie said people within the horse industry wanted to do something to show Witt's family they're thinking of her.
"It's been a tough week, but we know Callie would want us to continue on riding," Leslie said.
Leslie said riders and other members of the industry plan to wear a white arm band or ribbon Thursday at Churchill Downs to pay tribute. She said there's also an effort to write #RideforCallie on any gear.
"It's just a way to, you know, show the family that she meant something to all of us," Leslie said. "Whether it was someone that knew her or not, her life is important and a loss of life is a loss for everyone."
Leslie said the loss is a tragedy and hopes further safety precautions will arise after this.
"We're all just kind of trying to spend the time that we can to honor her," she said. "It's a tragedy that no one ever thinks. We all go out on the racetrack every day and expect to just hop off a horse and get on the next."
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