Tulsa doctor saves 14-year-old rider's life during equestrian competition

An equestrian competition in Florida quickly turned into a life-or-death situation for a 14-year-old rider who went into cardiac arrest. But because of quick actions from a Tulsa doctor, she is alive today.

2 Passions 

Karley Koch has been a physician for nearly eight years. She's also been riding horses all her life and says the two rarely overlap... until February 19th. 

"When you're a physician, you can never not be a physician," she said. 

Life or Death

Koch was in Florida to compete in an equestrian competition. She had just finished up and went to watch her friends compete when she says she watched one rider in the class slump over and collapse.

Ryan Haselden, 14, had gone into cardiac arrest. Karley immediately took charge and began CPR. After three rounds of compressions and an AED, Ryan’s pulse returned.

A Family's Gratitude

The family cannot thank Karley enough for stepping in and saving Ryan's life. They are now using the situation to bring awareness to CPR and AED training. 

“What could’ve been a very horrible outcome had the best possible result because someone was prepared, someone knew what to do,” said Will Haselden, Ryan's father.