Cancer Battle Not Slowing Down Gladiator and Dedicated Owner

Owning the horse of her dreams became a nightmare for Mindy Elgart when her Argentine-bred Gladiator was diagnosed in 2005 with a form of cancer that defied successful treatment.

Then the devastated Stockton resident learned of a specialist who had a 90 percent success rate in dealing with eyelid tumors like the one plaguing her mount, known around the barn as Max. The only trouble was, the expert and his equipment were based in Great Britain, and her horse was in New Jersey.

That didn’t stop Elgart, who took a second mortgage on her house and was the beneficiary of a fundraiser, enabling her to put together the $25,000 it took to get the horse to England and back, as well as the cost of Max’s therapy.

Professor Derek Knottenbelt was able to perform a miracle and Max went on to dressage success. But this spring, the tumor returned, and Max’s future once again was in doubt. Elgart, a 42-year-old amateur competitor who works as an associate vice president for Limited Brands, did not consider giving up on Max, however…
 

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Date: 9-18-2009
By: www.nj.com