Joyous family reunion ends in tragedy

Like many families, the Goldensteins have settled all over the world, planting roots in Germany, Switzerland, Alaska and rural Illinois.

But every year for more than a decade, the large extended family has gathered in the United States for the Goldenstein family reunion.

On Saturday, about 70 members and several generations of Goldensteins gathered on Remmer and Mary Schuetz's farm in Ashton, west of DeKalb.

Two days later, the reunion ended in tragedy when a horse ridden by 19-year-old Charlotte Von Harling trampled to death her cousin, 66-year-old Margaret Goldenstein, and sent Von Harling's grandmother, Renate Saeger, to the hospital with serious injuries.

On Tuesday, family and friends of Margaret Goldenstein said what began as a leisurely ride in the country quickly spiraled out of control.

On Monday, Von Harling and her grandmother planned to spend a relaxing afternoon on Reiner Schuetz's farm in Plato Township, before returning to Europe on Tuesday.

The younger Schuetz had brought his horses to the reunion, giving hay rides to the youngest Goldensteins. Von Harling, who has a horse in the German countryside near Hamburg, agreed when Schuetz suggested she ride one of his rehabilitated American Quarter Horses back at his farm.

Von Harling took one of the horses for a short ride near Schuetz's farmhouse before riding onto the hay field.

"I got onto the hay field," Von Harling recalled Tuesday. "I let him gallop, and it was the first time that I was sitting with him. I found out that he was really fast. The first time, I could hardly stop him."

Reiner Schuetz was standing with Margaret and Katherine Goldenstein, Saeger and family friend Michael Kearney on a concrete pad at the edge of the field. Schuetz told Von Harling to pull back on the reins and steer the horse in a circle.

"That is what I tried the second time," Von Harling said. "But he didn't respond, and he came nearer the crowd of people. I tried to pull him back but he just crashed into the ground. He threw down my grandmother and hit Margaret. I fell down, and he pulled me with him."

Kearney, who was videotaping Von Harling's ride, remembers Schuetz shouting, "Turn the horse!" as the animal galloped toward them.

"Charlotte couldn't rein the horse in," Kearney said. "He went through the people like a bowling ball going through pins."

When Von Harling saw that Margaret had hit the concrete, perhaps breaking her neck on impact, she started to perform CPR on her until the paramedics arrived. It was no use. Goldenstein was pronounced dead shortly after at Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin.

On Tuesday, family and friends kept vigil at Saeger's bedside at Rockford Memorial Hospital as the 76-year-old grandmother was upgraded to guarded condition - better than critical but worse than fair. Saeger, who lives with her husband in Bern, Switzerland, broke a shoulder blade, ribs and cheekbones.

"She's not in any life danger right now," said Kearney. "All these are things that generally heal on their own."

One of the people keeping watch was granddaughter Charlotte Von Harling, who said, "It's nice to see that my grandmother is getting better, but what has happened to Margaret is so tragic that I can't really describe it."

Meanwhile, Kane County Sheriff's police on Tuesday were on the verge of wrapping up their investigation. Their conclusion: it was probably just a tragic accident.

By the time emergency responders arrived at the Plato Township farm at 4 p.m. Monday, the 16-year-old mare that caused the accident, Becka, was already under control, Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said.

"The horse ran back to its stall," Gengler said. "(Reiner Schuetz) locked the door behind it."

Gengler said he was unsure what would happen to the horse.

"If it's a car involved in an accident, usually we impound it because there's so much damage. If it's a dog and it mauls someone, we euthanize it. This is a horse."

On Tuesday, Margaret Goldenstein's family was in shock but tried to remember the way she lived her life - not the tragic, abrupt way it ended.

Cousins described her as a happy, warmhearted woman who kept herself busy tending to her family's St. Charles dairy farm and informing the global network of cousins about the latest Goldenstein family news.

Amid the antique tractors and farm equipment on the Schuetz's farm in Ashton on Saturday, the Goldenstein cousins posed for group pictures and numbered those who could no longer attend the annual reunions.

"There's 41 of us cousins, and 20 of us have passed away," said Huntley resident Anna Huxtable, one of the cousins. "Never did I think that two days later, she would be the 21st cousin."

Margaret was already planning next year's reunion, which she wanted to host at the farmhouse where she lived with her sister, Katherine, on Silver Glen Road.

Margaret, according to her family, was born in the Elgin area and grew up on her parents' dairy farm in St. Charles. After graduating from St. Charles High School, she continued to tend the farm and also worked at Delnor Hospital in Geneva and on various projects through the Kane County Farm Bureau.

"They kept her pretty busy," said Caledonia resident Charlotte Rabe, Goldenstein's cousin. "She didn't do much else besides that. She had quite a few animals she took care of."

Kim Rabe, Charlotte's daughter-in-law, said this about her cousin Margaret: "She was one-of-a-kind."

Funeral arrangements are pending and will be handled by Conley Funeral Home in Elburn, family said.

Staff Writer Josh Stockinger contributed to this report.

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