Page 59 - 31 August 2012

Gilbert and his family in 1997 with Eric Johnston, racing secretary at Sam Houston Park, where Gilbert won Jockey of the Meet honors.
Ortiz enjoyed a 20-year stretch without
a major injury, but in 1998 he suffered a compound ankle fracture in the starting gate.
Then, in 1999, his horse broke down
just past the wire, shattering his T6 and T7 vertebrae. His surgeon, amazed that Ortiz had escaped paralysis, was even more amazed that he was up and walking just three days later. He was back on the track within six months.
More than a decade later, in 2011, during the first Quarter Horse race ever run on the grass at Evangeline Downs, Ortiz again went down. Although initially Ortiz’s x-rays showed two fractured ribs and a broken T3 vertebra, intense pain led to a full body scan that revealed a cracked sternum along with fractures of both T3 and T4 and eight ribs.
Daughters Jessica, a nurse; and Kourtney, an aspiring chef; Gilbert; son Gilbert Andrew, a high school junior; and Priscilla
tHe Home Front
Understandably, injuries are his family’s greatest worry. “Horseracing has provided us with a comfortable living, but also worry, concern and anxiety about whether he’s safe when he’s riding,” said his wife, Priscilla.
Yet Gilbert’s philosophy is, “It’s in God’s hands. You can’t have that fear; you just keep on going forward,” he said. “I love the work. I love loping horses; I could keep riding all day long.
I like to understand the horses, and I ride them to get that understanding.”
It goes without saying that he also loves
his family, and when he isn’t on the track, he’s headed home to spend time with Priscilla and their three children, and to help with the training operation that Priscilla oversees while he’s away.
Even though riding keeps him on the road much of the time, he talks to his family regularly while he’s away to be sure they’re doing ok. He’s missed a lot of time and activities with the kids, but they understand that he works so Priscilla can stay home with them. “We’re proud of him and what he has accomplished in his career, and we’re his biggest supporters,” said Priscilla. “We’re honored to be a part of what he’s doing.”
His backup plan
Gilbert and Priscilla, both originally from Pleasanton, Texas, where Priscilla says everybody knows everybody, met at a dance in 1985. They married in 1986. “From then on, she came with me to races,” Ortiz said.
Gilbert Ortiz has had the opportunity to ride many great horses, including Kool Kue Baby (64-34-10-8, $783,519), Vals Fortune (23-20-2-0, $1,111,591) and Tailor Fit (40-20-11-1, $1,299,010).
Ortiz and Champion Vals Fortune win the 2003 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile.
SPEEDHORSE, August 31, 2012 57
Fair Grounds Sam Houston Race Park
Courtesy Gilbert Ortiz