Author mending after fall

By CANDACE CHASE

Mark Owens was injured when he was bucked off a horse near Libby

The Daily Inter Lake

Famed author and zoologist Mark Owens is recovering at Kalispell Regional Medical Center after surgery for injuries suffered in a horseback riding accident on Cedar Lakes Trail west of Libby.

The accident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. Aug. 1, when the author and a companion were about 4 miles from the trailhead. Owens, 62, was transported by ALERT the next morning to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Owens and his wife, Delia, authored several best-selling books based on 23 years of research and conservation work on endangered species in Africa. These include Cry of the Kalahari and The Eye of the Elephant.

Since 1997, the couple s foundation has supported the recovery of grizzly bears in northern Idaho s Selkirk and Purcell Mountains. The two live in Moyie Springs, Idaho.

Dr. Paul Carpenter, a Whitefish physician and friend of the couple, said the author was riding down a steep mountainside when something spooked his horse. It took off running and bucking, eventually throwing Owens.

Carpenter said his friend suffered spinal injuries, a collapsed lung and several broken ribs as a result of the fall. He said his companion had to leave Owens and ride for help.

He really didn t know the way, Carpenter said. It was a pretty harrowing experience.

Carpenter said he and his wife, Penny, met the couple when they were on a book tour about 20 years ago and became friends.

Sam Testa, Owens riding companion, and Owens wife provided details of the accident in an interview with the Western News.

Delia Owens credited Testa, 53, along with Lincoln County s David Thompson Search and Rescue for bringing her husband to safety. Testa, a retired real estate developer, only recently moved to Moyie Springs from Georgia.

According to Delia Owens, he had never ridden in the mountains before.

He had to ride down a strange trail in the dark to get help, she said.

Testa told the Western News that he and Mark Owens were about a mile below the lake on the trail when Owens horse took off.

He was behind Owens at the time.

The horse went into a bucking fit and he (Owens) went way up in the air and he went down hard, Testa said. There were lots of rocks and logs. He landed right next to some logs and was in a lot of pain.

He said Owens landed on his stomach and the horse took off. It later was captured.

Testa decided not to move Owens. He took off for help after covering the injured man with his jacket.

He told the Western News that his journey was difficult because Owens horse had the flashlights in the saddle bag. Testa just happened to purchase a little flashlight from a rack when the two had stopped to purchase batteries for the large flashlights for their trip.

He lost the trail once before finding his way to the trail head where he went to a home to call for help. Testa returned to Owens by about midnight and was followed an hour later by search and rescue officials.

After stabilizing the injured author, they moved him about 1.5 miles to Moose Meadow where the helicopter was able to land and evacuate Owens at 8 a.m.

Delia Owens characterized the accident as a freaky thing. She said her husband was an experienced rider but had some previous problems with the horse.

Mark Owens had surgery Saturday to fuse five vertebrae. His wife predicted his recovery from the accident would take about five months.

According to their friend Paul Carpenter, the couple has been on a promotional tour for their new book Secrets of the Savanna.

Their Web site www.owen-foundation.org said the book tells the story of how Delia and Mark Owens saved an elephant population by helping villagers find alternative work to poaching. It chronicles the severe danger they faced from gangs of commercial poachers.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.