Latest news with #CrystalHackett
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Jockey is hailed as a hero for saving her horse with an incredibly brave act that saw her get dragged around a racetrack
A New Zealand horse racing star has been hailed for her bravery after she was tipped out of her carriage during a harness race at Alexandra Park but did not let go of the reins in a bid to stop her horse from harming himself. The incident took place on Friday night, with Crystal Hackett having just sealed victory in Race Eight alongside three-year-old gelding Buddy Guy at the Auckland-based track. After finishing the race, the pair had been making their way back around the track to receive their awards. It was here that the young gelding became spooked and bolted to the left, tipping the 21-year-old horsewoman out of her seat. Buddy Guy then began to pick up speed and dashed his way across the infield area at Alexandra Park, with Hackett refusing to let go of the reins. The three-year-old dragged Hackett nearly 100m into the middle of the infield, with the South Auckland horse rider suffering a couple of bumps and bruises along the way. It was a courageous act from Hackett, who held on in a bid to slow her horse down and prevent Buddy Guy from sustaining an injury or harming anyone else on the track. 'I know how bad it could've gone if I had let go,' Hackett told the New Zealand Herald. 'But at the same time, it's just natural instinct to hold and just hope for the best – hope that I can stop the horse. It worked out last night, but it doesn't always.' Eventually, the pair came to a halt in the middle of the infield, with Buddy Guy stopping before a cabled fence. Two stewards then arrived to calm the horse, with Hackett readjusting her carriage before getting back on board and driving the horse off the track. 'Have a look at how brave she is, this is not the first time she's done this,' one commentator on Trackside NZ said when reviewing the footage. Several social media users took to X to lump praise on Hackett, with one writing: 'Awesome effort, gutsy, brave, tough.' Another added: Absolutely could have been disastrous. Well done to all controlling the situation. Crystal is a legend.' Despite feeling a little stiff the following morning, the horse rider laughed off her injuries, pleased in the knowledge that no one, including Buddy Guy, was seriously hurt. 'I've definitely got a few sore spots – a few bruises have come up quick last night – and I was pretty stiff this morning. But the more the day has gone on I've been a bit better,' she laughed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Crystal Hackett (@ Hackett was cleared by medics to drive in the next race, and she got back to where she left off driving Maro Mackendon to victory in Race Nine. Hackett later revealed that Buddy Guy had suddenly become scared of another horse, which prompted him to bolt off the track. 'The start of it happened in quite slow motion. But when I initially got tipped out, I knew I was going to hit the ground,' she said to the New Zealand Herald, recounting the incident. 'And when I was getting dragged, I thought: "Oh, this could go on for a while". It did feel like I was getting dragged for 10 minutes, but it was only about 20 seconds.' Hackett then revealed that the horse went back to the barn where she said he had settled: 'He was unharmed that's the main thing.' Her mother Michelle Wallis has also spoken of her admiration for her daughter's courage and selflessness, telling the outlet: 'The horse always comes first for her.' It is not the first time Hackett has been dragged along the ground by her mount during a race meeting, with the Kiwi star being dragged during a race at Hawera in January.
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Harness racer Crystal Hackett bounces back from harrowing ordeal at Alexandra Park
Harness racer Crystal Hackett has emerged relatively unscathed, but now an internet sensation, after her heroics at Auckland's Alexandra Park over the weekend. Hackett had just guided debutant Buddy Guy to victory in race eight on the card on Friday, when the two-year-old spooked and bolted, tipping the driver from her sulky and dragging her along the ground for several seconds, until she could regain control. Footage of her ordeal took social media by storm, but Hackett assured Checkpoint both she and the horse were none the worse for wear - except for her badly grass-stained racing pants. "I was a bit stiff the next day," she said. "I had a few aches and pains, but you just get moving and they've gone away now. "Very lucky I'm young and bounce back quickly. "Buddy's fine, he came through it well. He wouldn't even know it happened, he's happy out in the paddock being a horse - he's good as gold." Hackett explained hanging onto the reins was part of her training to ensure the loose horse did not cause damage to himself or those around him. "With the sulky behind the horse, it's just another thing that the horse can get caught on, if they get loose," she said. "If he got loose and ran out the gate, the sulky could hook on the fence and get stuck, and he hurts himself. "It's mainly a safety precaution for the horse and it's easier to stop the horse, if you've still got hold of the reins." The incident occurred as they headed back to scale after their race victory and Buddy Guy caught sight of the clerk-of-the-course's horse. "I felt him have a look at that horse and duck sideways, and thought, 'Oh, this isn't good'," Hackett recalled. "The sulky kicked up and I thought, 'Oh, this really isn't good'. Crystal Hackett was dragged for several seconds by Buddy Guy, but emerged relatively unscathed. Photo: Trackside "The clerk-of-the-course usually catches the runaway horses, so I knew, if I let go, there was no way we would catch Buddy Guy. "I had to just keep hanging on, which is what we're taught to do at a young age - hang on as tight as you can for as long as you can, as long as no-one's going to get hurt." Hackett was no stranger to this predicament - she was also dragged during a race at Hawera in January. Miraculously, not only did she escape harm on this occasion, she went on to win the very next race with Maro Mackendon. "It ended up being quite a good night at the office." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Harness racer dragged across track, holds on to save horse
Video of a harness racer, who was dragged face down for metres by her bolting horse, has gone viral with the footage viewed more than 1.5 million times. Crystal Hackett had just won a race at Alexandra Park on Friday night driving pacer Buddy Guy, when he got spooked and up-ended the sulky, the two wheeled cart behind the horse, tipping Crystal onto the ground. She held onto the reins, fearing if she let go the horse would hurt himself or another racer, and was dragged at speed across rough terrain before managing to bring him to a stop. Crystal Hackett spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
