A PAINFUL BLESSING: Jen Glomski’s Accidental Miracle

Featured in Arabian Horse Times

“I did not cry once during my twelve days in the hospital or from the intensely painful (unmedicated) events, but as soon as I got to U.S. Nationals and saw my barn family, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing,” Jen Glomski shared about her emotional release upon arriving at the 2024 U.S. Nationals.

She was fresh off the longest, most painful, confusing, difficult, and frightening two months of her life. In a freak accident last August, Jen was trampled in the pasture of her retired show horses. That resulted in a burst spleen, many broken ribs, life-threatening blood loss, multiple surgeries, living with tubes coming out of her body for weeks, and a surprising cancer diagnosis. During her emergency exploratory surgery at Mayo Clinic Rochester, her surgeon discovered many tumors that turned out to be follicular lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Jen was entirely asymptomatic, so without this accident who knows when this condition would have revealed itself. She had growths in her abdomen, cervix, and bones. After many rounds of chemo and immunotherapy, Jen is currently in remission and “choosing to just look forward to the next ride.”

At a time where a lot of people would have succumbed to the stress, fear, and worry, Jen found focus, determination, and grit to get back to her favorite thing – riding her horses.

She remembers a text her good friend Roberta sent saying, “you know your horses are saving your life. You would have never known about the lymphoma without the accident. And it is the horses that will bring you out the other side of this.”

Her Horses

As the EMTs worked to stabilize Jen for the helicopter ride she undoubtedly needed to make, all she kept telling them was, “I have a horse show coming up.” From the first moments, through every part of her healing her horses were her inspiration.

In a more thoughtful tone she adds, “I am thankful for them, their quick responses, and quick action every day” when referring to the first responders who were there that day.

Jen had many overwhelming moments in the immediate days following this accident. There were scary words and scenarios floating all around. But, rather than get stuck on the questions, fears, and risks, she held on to one conversation that she had with her surgeon. She woke up from that first surgery with six (yes, six) tubes coming out of her. Her first question to that surgeon was, “can I show my horses in October?” He may not have known it at the time, but his answer changed everything and became Jen’s anchor.

“He said it was not impossible,” she reflects. “And that was all I needed to hear.”

This sliver of potential became her motivation. She did the most that her doctors and nurses would let her at every point of her recovery, all while being driven by her love for her horses.

Jen kept her barn family, including trainers Josh Shino and Laura Rodel very up to speed on her progress. And because she had set the goal early on to show at Nationals, nobody got in her way or discouraged her from that – no matter the number of tubes, cords, and IV bags that were in the photos she shared. They prepared her horses as if she would be aboard them in the Ford Truck Arena in eight short weeks.

Everyone was following Jen’s determined lead. She did not end up showing at Nationals, but she was able to come and cheer on her homebred mare Royal Tea HHF and barn family. And she was showing her HA Park horse WP Little Black Dress in early December, which was a huge feat! Her medical staff worked with her, scheduling chemo treatments around horse shows and trips to Arizona to practice. Ultimately her determination, focus, and goal of being strong enough to ride again had a massive impact on her experience.

She reminds us, “that horses will always be there when the next challenge comes.”

Her Family

Along with the motivation of riding again, she of course, had the support of her family. Her mom and husband Todd were within ear shot of the accident (thank goodness) and able to call for emergency services. Todd also spent every day by her side in the hospital – helping her get stronger and bracing with her as they got the diagnoses that followed. And the two of them tag teamed every chemo treatment.

Another unexpected blessing in this story comes in the form of her daughter Annie’s future. Annie has been in school at Arizona State, studying nursing. In watching her mom’s experience in the hospital, she found that her real passion was in trauma and emergency. Annie even got to observe some of Jen’s final tube extractions. It led her to apply to an internship at Mayo Clinic for the Summer of 2025. An internship she recently completed and got her to a program that will lead to employment after her graduation in Spring 2026.

Amidst the pain, trauma, fear and uncertainty, Jen along with her family and friends have made the best of a terrible situation. With her lead they continue to focus on those blessings rather than the dozens of “what ifs” that are riddled among this story from start until finish. Life is scary. And life is also blessed.