For senior Julie Kruger, staying off horses was never an option, even after a riding accident left her legally blind.

When Julie was competing in Florida in February 2003, her horse Lucky Times missed a jump, tripped and fell on top of her. The weight of the 1,200-pound horse put pressure on Julie’s heart and caused more than 150 fractures in her skull, as well as damage to her optic nerves. The horse was not seriously injured in the accident.

But Julie would not allow the only major accident in her 18 years of riding to keep her out of the saddle.

“I’ve done this my whole life,” she said. “So getting back on the horse was never a question.”

When Julie came home to recover in Verona, N.J., her mother, Susan, said she spotted her daughter on Lucky Times, trotting and cantering just two months after the accident.

“I remember looking out the barn window and seeing she’d set up four little jumps, and she was jumping,” Susan said. “The next day, it was eight jumps.”

Four months after her accident, Julie was back in the ring winning blue ribbons.

Before college, Julie competed nearly every weekend up and down the east coast 11 months out of the year, Susan said.

“We basically lived out of the car,” she said.

Now Julie, who has been captain of Ithaca College’s equestrian team since her freshman year, competes in the two highest collegiate divisions — open over fences and open on the flat.

Julie said the levels of blindness are different in each eye, but she cannot see anything directly in front of her. One eye has a blind spot in the center, the other is toward the top of her eye. She adapts by tilting her head or moving her eyes around the spots.

“It’s not blurry or anything – it’s just not there,” she said.

Julie said her visual impairment makes it difficult to see jumps until she is a few strides in front of them. Sometimes she also mistakenly sees obstacles that don’t exist.

But it’s impossible to detect her disability when she takes the ring, as she and the horse move as one, gliding over jumps without a hint of hesitation. Julie said she finds her confidence before each ride by simply trusting her abilities.

Susan said Julie’s doctors aren’t sure how she still rides flawlessly. Connie Sawyer, one of the team’s coaches, has known Julie since her freshman year. She said it’s a testament to Julie’s years of training and experience.

“When she started, we weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into,” she said. “But she surprised us all with her abilities. She’s an inspiration. She’s not just our captain, but our best rider too.”

The club’s president, junior Jessica Carp, said Julie’s natural talent and dedication inspire the team.

“It’s kind of intimidating to get in the ring with her because she’s such a fantastic rider,” she said. “She always wants to get it right. It’s so important for her not necessarily to be perfect, but the best she can be.”

Julie started trotting lessons at age 3. Her mother said she didn’t know then Julie would continue riding so long, but she knew Julie’s tenacity and love of horses would stay with her.

“She used to walk into our local barn, and she knew the [lesson] schedule behind the desk,” Susan said. “If there was no name in one of the little boxes, Julie would put her name in the box. One day I looked up and asked, ‘Where’s Julie?’ and I’d see her in the ring. She was a little powerhouse.”

Julie’s father, Paul, said he could also see her passion at an early age.

“It was all she ever talked about in school,” he said. “Every doodle was a picture of a horse. Every paper she wrote — it was always about horses.”

Her parents said that’s why they knew their daughter’s accident wouldn’t stop her from riding.

“We’ve never looked back,” Susan said. “We’ve always just put one foot forward. We never said, ‘Oh, poor Julie,’ and Julie’s never said, ‘Oh, poor me.’”

Susan said she’s thankful because the accident could have been much worse. Julie did not require any surgery for her facial fractures.

“I can’t tell you it was the worst day of my life, but it actually turned out to be the best because we could’ve had an ugly ending,” Susan said. “I never thought she was going to die, but I knew God was watching over her.”

Paul, who wasn’t present at the accident, said the helicopter pilots who flew Julie to the hospital said they didn’t think she’d make it to the emergency room.

“She’s always been very feisty and a fighter,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons she got through what happened to her.”

Susan said Julie was thrown once before from a difficult pony.

“She stood up, and she was so mad,” she said. “She put her helmet in her hands, made little fists and stomped out of the arena. She got a standing ovation. She was 5 years old, and it was the cutest thing ever.”

Her parents said humor has been a large part of Julie’s recovery.

“We make a lot of blind jokes at home,” Susan said. “Sometimes if I say I can’t see because I’m not wearing my glasses, she’ll say, ‘Welcome to my world.’”

Her father said he remembers a few nights after the accident, while he was watching an episode of “ER” dealing with head trauma, Julie walked by with a surprising comment.

“‘Head trauma?’ she said. ‘I’ll show you head trauma,’” he said. “She wouldn’t let it affect her. Life goes on.”

Sawyer said it’s this sense of humor that makes Julie the team’s clown and keeps everyone relaxed during competition.

“We just love her,” Sawyer said. “We were a serious team prior to her arrival. But we were blindsided by Julie Kruger. We’ve never been the same ever since, and we’re all the better for it.”