Five-year-old Jaycie West is covered in white, sticky shaving cream, and she's using her right index finger to write her name on a Rapid City Regional Health window.

Her uninhibited giggles fill the rehabilitation room, and she seems like any other young girl -- loves horses, wants Red Lobster for lunch and is dressed top to bottom in Hannah Montana. "I even have Hannah panties on," she proudly declares.

But the past three weeks have been anything but normal for Jaycie, of Philip, who has made what her parents call a miraculous recovery after she was kicked in the head by a horse at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo in Rapid City on Jan. 25.

The early-afternoon accident happened while Jaycie's mother, Amber, was working with her horse named Flash, in the indoor riding arena at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

Jaycie, who has been on horses since she was a toddler, begged Amber to let her ride. Amber agreed and led them around the arena. The horse got spooked, though, and started spinning in circles, Amber said, and got even more erratic when Amber tried to reach up and grab her daughter.

"Then, he jerked lose from me and ran around the arena," and straight toward an open gate, Amber said. She said she watched in horror as she thought about the horse tripping on the reins and throwing Jaycie off head first.

"I kept thinking, 'Oh God, don't step in your reins and flip yourself,'" she said.

Amber ran in front of the horse and reached to grab Jaycie, but the horse spun and threw Jaycie off. As he ran away, Amber said, his hind leg clipped Jaycie in the head.

Within the hour, Jaycie was undergoing emergency brain surgery. Part of the brain that swelled and had been exposed to the air and dirt at the arena had to be removed during the surgery.

Jaycie stayed in the intensive care unit for a week before being moved to the children's hospital, then to the rehabilitation center, where she will stay for another two weeks.

Amber said Jaycie can still complete her preschool lessons and, at a recent rehabilitation session, Jaycie rattled off math answers when the physical therapist quizzed her. The best example of her improvement, Amber said, is the movement of the left side of her body, which was next to nothing after the surgery.

Jaycie's dad, Zach, was at her side when she moved her left leg for the first time. He challenged her to wiggle her sock off if she got too warm, and she kicked her leg in response.

"It was great," he said.

And best of all, Amber said, is that Jaycie is still Jaycie.

"Her personality is 100 percent there," Amber said. "This little spunky thing, she's still there."

Jaycie plans to get back on her favorite horse, Wanda, as soon as she's fully recovered, which could take at least three to six months. The doctor says no horses until then.

"That crushed her," Amber said. "That's what she lives for. Every day we ride. She has a natural gift and timing on a horse."

But when she does get on Wanda, she'll be wearing a helmet, Amber said. In the recent past, the family has gotten lax on the requirement, Amber said.

Riding horses seems to run in the family. Jaycie's brother Eastan, 4, also rides horses, and Amber and Zach rodeo. Zach was scheduled to bronc ride the night of the accident. Zach's brother, Brandon, rode in the event and won first place, dedicating his win to Jaycie.

The family has made friends all over the country because of rodeos, Amber said.

"The outpouring of support has been overwhelming; we've been blessed," she said, adding Jaycie's preschool friends have come to visit and bring her stuffed animals.

Today, Jaycie sports a rhinestone-covered Hannah Montana helmet to protect her head. She still struggles with full use of her left hand, oftentimes prying her fingers open to clutch a bat or pick up a bowling ball. And she's a little wobbly on her feet.

"Her recovery has just been a miracle," Amber said.

There will be reminders of the accident for some time. Jaycie's shoulder-length blond hair was shaved and is nothing more than peach fuzz right now. She will undergo several CT scans to determine how much of the skull will grow back on its own, and she'll eventually need surgery to implant donor bone or a plate to cover the top of her head.

But she'll probably keep smiling through the entire thing, her parents predict.

"She has never once complained or said, 'I don't want to do this,'" Amber said. "Every day it's a smile, and (she's) happy. That's what I'm most proud of."

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or Kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com