Finley teen overcomes losing eye to become fair and rodeo royalty

It’s hard to tell when you look into the sparkling brown eyes of Brittni Kinnison that anything is unusual.

But the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo queen has a little different view of the world and a unique outlook on life — thanks to a prosthetic eye.

When Kinnison was just 10 months old, she fell onto a plastic chair, heavily damaging the cornea and retina in her left eye. She was taken to Seattle to be examined and went through several surgeries.

However, doctors couldn’t repair the damage, and Kinnison was left blind in that eye.

“I don’t ever remember seeing out (the injured) eye,” said the Finley 19-year-old.

Although the injury took away part of her eyesight, Kinnison didn’t let it hold her back from being active or trying new things.

She grew up around a farm and started riding horses when she was 10 years old. She got into competitive barrel racing and was a 4-H horse member.

“I really like going fast,” Kinnison said.

But her injured eye still caused her pain. The eye — which Kinnison described as a milky color with a noticeable scar — would get red, swollen and itchy.

By the time Kinnison reached high school, she noticed her eyeball shrinking and the pain becoming more frequent. So, she decided when she was a senior to get the eye removed and replaced with a prosthetic.

Kinnison said she had thought about the possibility that one day her sight could miraculously be restored through advancements in medicine, but she ultimately decided she needed the surgery.

“It just wasn’t worth the pain,” she said.

Kinnison’s eye was removed, and after six weeks of recovery she was in Spokane working with a doctor to get the perfect prosthetic.

At first the artificial eye felt odd, but Kinnison quickly adapted.

“I’ve grown to not even notice it,” she said.

This past year, Kinnison was inspired to run for the queen of this year’s fair and rodeo. However, she was left with a dilemma as the competition neared: to tell the judges about her prosthetic or not.

Kinnison said she didn’t want to be given sympathy points, so she held back from telling anyone during the competition.

She ended up excelling in the horsemanship category to take the 2015 crown.

“I didn’t expect to win at all,” she said.

Now, Kinnison is representing the area at events around the state and nation. She has been highly visible all week at the fair, participating in the rodeo, posing for pictures and handing out awards.

The River View High School graduate wants to attend college and study business management.

She told the Herald she decided to talk publicly in hopes of injecting confidence into others who may be struggling with a similar obstacle.

“You never know who you can inspire,” she said.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Finley teen overcomes losing eye to become fair and rodeo royalty."