Dr. Elliott Hays is the youngest of nine children, son of the late Jim and Wilma Hays. 

“In June of my freshman year in high school I was riding horseback to the Van Buren Rodeo Parade. A 16 year old girl driving a Volkswagen 60 MPH struck the rear of my horse. In a split second I was catapulted out of the saddle, bounced on the top of the car and landed head first into the pavement where I lay unconscious in a puddle of blood until the ambulance arrived. The gash in my forehead was sutured and I lay in a coma for about 24 hours. Aware of everything that was said around me people were saying, “don’t tell him about his horse.” He had run across the road on 3 legs, laid down and had to be put to sleep. I was held over for observation and released with a clean bill of health.