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Fundraising For A Beloved Farrier

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By TONY MARRERO Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Rita Rudny knew something was wrong when her farrier didn't show up to her Brooksville home one day last July.
Jason Biggs had taken care of Rudny's horseshoeing needs for more than decade and had an unblemished record of reliability, Rudny said.

"He'd never been late in 11 years," she said.

In fact, something had gone wrong.

Biggs, a former Brooksville resident who still has most of his clients here, had been injured on the job in Brooksville when a horse reared up and then fell on top of him.

"It was one of those rainy days with lots of lightning, and the horse just spooked," Biggs recalled Thursday as he recovered at his parents' house in Tampa.

He was taken to Brooksville and his injuries didn't seem severe at first. But the 26-year-old developed a strain of pneumonia that made its way into his spinal fluid. He lost most of his lung capacity, and his blood cell counts skyrocketed.

"They told my parents, 'We don't know if he's going to make it,'" Biggs recalled.

He stayed in Tampa's University Community Hospital for more than two weeks, suffering 43 seizures one night, he said. He's now being treated for Lyme's disease, something doctors believe had been lurking in his system for years. He gets almost daily visits from home health-care workers who pump his veins full of intravenous medication.

Now Rudny and other friends and customers have organized two fundraisers to raise money to help Biggs defray medical costs. The 36-year-old enrolled in health insurance earlier this year but the plan isn't covering a substantial portion of his treatment and prescription expenses, Rudny said.

The first fundraiser is a dinner and concert slated for noon to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the Rising Sun Cafe, 10 Main St., Brooksville.

Pulled pork will be served for $8 a plate. The Geezers will play blues music.

A silent auction will feature donated items ranging from a paint job for an automobile to a professional portrait sitting. The auction also will include equine gear, artwork and gift certificates from local restaurants.

Rudny has donated a two-and-a-half-year-old Paintaloosa. She calls the mild-tempered white filly with a white mane her "Cinderella horse."

"She'd be perfect for a little girl," she said.

The second fundraiser is billed as an "Equine Extravaganza" and will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Hernando County Fairgrounds in Brooksville. A suggested donation of $10 will be accepted at the door.

The event will feature a silent auction with items ranging from saddles to breeding services, live music and a yard sale featuring equine gear. There will be a general veterinary forum, western riding and dressage performances, and seminars by a master farrier and an equine chiropractor.

Barbecue or baked ziti will be available for an extra charge.

Marcia Hudzinsky, a longtime client of Biggs, is spearheading the event. She said Biggs is not just "the best" at what he does.

"He's just a big, big-hearted person," Hudzinsky said. "We want to do whatever we can to get him out of this mess."

Biggs described the outpouring of support as "awesome."

"It's hard to take in that there are people willing to do that for you," he said. But he added, "Horse people are different people."

The fundraising will help, he said. He estimates insurance will cover about $60,000 of the roughly $100,000 in medical bills he's accumulated so far.

Biggs describes himself as a "workaholic" and said one of the toughest parts of recovering is being "laid up" for so long.

He's confident he'll return to horseshoeing.

"There's no doubt in my mind I'll get back in the gym and do what I have to do to get back at it," he said.

If you go

WHAT: Concert, dinner fundraiser for farrier Jason Biggs
WHEN: Noon to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27

WHERE: Rising Sun Cafe, 10 Main St., Brooksville.

CONTACT: Rita Rudny,

650-3151.

Another fundraiser for Biggs, dubbed an "Equine Extravaganza, will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Hernando County Fairgrounds, 6436 Broad St., Brooksville. There will be live music, drawings, a silent auction, exhibitions, seminars and a yard sale featuring equine goods. Suggested donation of $10 at the door. Advance tickets available. For information, call Marcia Hudzinsky, 799-8553.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandtoday.com.

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