A YOUNG jockey has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries after falling from her horse during a race in South Australia.
Kelsey Hannan, 21, reportedly fell and lost consciousness at the Strathalbyn Racecourse about 1.40pm on Sunday afternoon.
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She was initially said to be semi-conscious with a sore neck but was able to move her legs and hands.
Hannan then reportedly started “slipping in and out of consciousness” while waiting for a second ambulance to arrive.
The star athlete, who is from New Zealand, was placed in a neck brace and airlifted to Royal Adelaide Hospital where she was “virtually placed in an induced coma”, according to Racing.com’s Terry McAuliffe and reported by 7News.
Mr McAuliffe said: “They’re concerned about her neck.
“That’s the reason they’re flying her to the Royal Adelaide, to get her there as smoothly and as quickly as possible.”
Hannan had finished her race on horse Iva Dream when it would seem the mare clipped another horse’s heels, throwing the jockey over its head and some 50 metres past the finish line.
Racing South Australia postponed the remaining races from the meet, including the Strathalbyn Cup, after Hannan’s fellow jockeys voted against continuing with the program.
In a cruel twist, it has come to light the 21-year-old had only just recovered from a broken jaw she sustained in a trackwork incident in October last year which required surgery to have a plate and screws inserted into the bone.
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She only moved to Australia from New Zealand late last year, to further her racing career.
After nearly three months on the sidelines, Hannan returned to the track and was in top form, riding six metro winners in two weeks.
She said of the incident: “It was very gutting but with horses these things happen and you can’t really tell when it’s going to happen.
“I’ve had surgery to put a plate and some screws in it, so now it’s just a waiting game.
“The swelling is going down, I’ve got a big, ugly bruise on my chin but overall I think the healing is going OK.
“I’m on a puree diet for six weeks.”
Racing South Australia intends to run the remaining seven races from Sunday’s Strathalbyn meeting this Friday.
