‘They sewed my ear on and pulled a bone out of my head' – Jockey kicked in face by horse lucky to be alive
Irish rider Samantha Wynne, 36, who learned her trade under the late, great Kevin Prendergast, has made a name for herself on the circuit in New Zealand.
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Samantha Wynne can't remember a thing about being kicked in the face by a horse - and it's probably a good thing given the horrific injuries she suffered
She combines race-riding with training - and it was while doing some of the latter she came close to death.
Wynne was rushed to hospital with severe head injuries after being smacked in the head by a filly when taking horses out for training at Canterbury Park Racecourse.
She needed emergency surgery for a fractured skull and severed ear.
But as bad as that sounds it could have been much worse - especially when you consider a
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Wynne was able to share a positive update on her condition on Monday.
She had absolutely no recollection of what happened, being instantly knocked out cold from the impact.
Wynne said: "I've been in hospital for the last couple of days and I'm feeling a little bit better this morning.
"I can't really remember what happened but the girls filled me in.
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"One of the two-year-old fillies wouldn't walk into the tie-ups and she ran backwards and kicked me in the head.
"It pretty much took my ear off and I've got a fractured skull.
"I was knocked out for about five or six minutes and apparently when the ambulance came I was fighting them because I didn't want to go to the hospital.
Once they got me in, they gave me some good painkillers and I went into surgery that night.
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"I got my ear sewed back on and they removed fragments out of the fractures and pulled a bone out of my head.
"They had to make sure I had no brain injuries, and I'm very lucky that I don't think I have.
"There is just a lot of swelling, but hopefully that will go down and the fracture will heal.
"My partner has spoken to a lot of people and I've responded to a couple.
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"I've been able to use my phone a little bit more today after being a bit too dizzy over the last couple of days.
"I have to go for a hearing test later on and a couple of other tests as well.
"I just feel upset and frustrated because I don't know what happened, but I'm grateful for the support I've had."
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