Popular jockey Samantha Wynne is recovering in Christchurch Hospital after suffering serious head trauma in a stable accident on Saturday morning.
The Irish-born jockey-turned-trainer, who has called Canterbury home for over a decade, was tending to her team of horses when she was kicked in the head, resulting in a fractured skull and significant damage to her ear.
Wynne, 36, had enjoyed a standout season, including multiple Stakes wins aboard her stable star Pivotal Ten, who also contested the rich NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie back in March.
As part of her regular routine, Wynne had taken a group of horses to the track when the incident occurred. She has no memory of the accident, but later learned from her team that a two-year-old filly panicked and kicked her during tie-up procedures.
“I’ve been in hospital for a couple of days and felt a bit better this morning,” Wynne said. “Apparently, one of the fillies wouldn’t settle and ran backwards. She kicked me in the head and took most of my ear off. I’ve got a fractured skull too.”
Wynne was unconscious for several minutes and initially resisted hospital treatment before paramedics sedated her. Emergency surgery followed to reattach her ear and remove bone fragments from her skull.
“They had to ensure there was no brain injury, and thankfully it looks like there isn’t,” she said. “There’s a lot of swelling, but hopefully that subsides soon and the fracture heals properly.”
Her partner has been keeping friends and colleagues updated, while Wynne has slowly resumed using her phone. “I’ve been too dizzy until now,” she said. “I’m hoping to go home soon, maybe tomorrow, depending on more hearing and neurological tests.”
Wynne expressed deep gratitude to her team for holding things together while she recovers. “I’m incredibly lucky to have the girls around me. I’d be lost without them,” she said. “It’s just been hard not knowing what happened and having to piece it together later.”
The incident adds to a tragic week for New Zealand racing, which is still mourning the loss of apprentice jockey Ngakau Hailey, and hoping for a full recovery for Triston Moodley, who also sustained a head injury in a separate trackwork incident.
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