Decatur County Commissioner Russell Smith was injured in a horse riding accident on Saturday, Aug. 1, according to County Administrator Tom Patton.

Smith is recovering from serious injuries at an Intensive Care Unit at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Patton said Tuesday. According to Patton, who said he visited Smith at the hospital on Monday, Smith was in stable condition as of Tuesday.

When the accident occurred, Smith was riding his horse just over the Florida side of the Georgia-Florida border, near his residence on Smithtown Road, according to Patton.

Smith had been riding his horse for about three hours on Saturday afternoon when something apparently spooked the animal, Patton said. In the process of trying to bring it under control, a rein broke and Smith was forcibly thrown off the horse, he said.

Smith, who is retired from a career in law enforcement and the Florida prisons system, was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2008. He is an alumnus of the former Attapulgus High School.