Florida teen with a love for horses laid to rest after 'freak accident' during competition

WILDWOOD, Fla. - At the age of 15, Hannah Serfass' family described her as an "animal whisperer."

"I think that’s why she rode (horses) so well," explained Hannah’s mom, Janine Serfass. "She just had a connection with animals, and it showed in her life."

In addition to horses, Hannah had five dogs, a cat, and two pigs. She also ran track and cross country for Wildwood Middle High School.

But her passion was horses. It’s why the family was in the process of building a new barn for her show horses.

"We just noticed right away that she had a real talent for it," said Serfass, adding that she and her husband did not grow up riding horses. "I was starting to realize she's really going to make a go of this. This is going to be her career for the rest of her life."

United States Equestrian Foundation professional rider and trainer Robin Swinderman Mitchell recognized Hannah’s talent early on, too.

"Certain things you can’t teach people. She was naturally talented. Naturally gifted. And worked hard at it to get better and better all the time," Mitchell said. "She would study her past rides and try to always fix her mistakes. She just learned super fast because it came easy to her."

On April 30, Hannah was competing at Fox Lea Farm in Venice.

"In my head, I was saying, ‘Just stay steady, Eddie. You've got a good shot today of getting a good ribbon,’" Serfass said.

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The horse successfully landed a jump, the Serfass family said. But after taking a few more steps, the horse tripped and fell on the teenager.

"It was a total freak accident," Mitchell said. "I don’t think there’s anything that could’ve been done to have prevented it."

"There was absolutely nothing that could have prevented what happened to Hannah. No piece of safety equipment would have saved her. Although I do encourage everyone to please wear safety equipment because Hannah did," Serfass said. "It's not something that I believe could ever happen again. It was purely an accident, and I feel like it was just God taking her right away."

This week, Hannah was laid to rest on her family’s property near the new barn they were building for her.

"She'd be mortified if she knew what happened to her stopped anyone from riding," Serfass said.

"Hannah would never want anybody to stop riding," Mitchell said.

The family plans to finish the new barn, hoping another young passionate, and dedicated rider will be able to use it one day.

"She liked to smile all the time, and she was happy. And I want people to know that. And I just want to keep it going," Serfass said.

The Serfass family said they are grateful to Roby and Jen Roberts, who hosted Hannah’s celebration of life service at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala for free on Monday. They also thank the entire horse community for rallying around their family.