JUMP-OUT FALL PUTS DALE SMITH OUT OF ACTION FOR SEVERAL WEEKS WITH HAND AND SHOULDER INJURIES
By Graham Potter | Monday, January 25, 2021
Jockey Dale Smith’s name will be missing from the race-fields for several weeks.
Smith explains why …
“I was on one on Natalie McCall’s horses at the jump-outs at the Sunshine Coast. I had jumped out the same horse the week before and it was pretty quiet then, but this time it copped a bump from its stable-mate and it just took fright and went straight into a buck,” said Smith.
“It continued to buck for about twenty metres and I thought I had sat on it pretty well … but on its last buck it just sort of stepped sideways and the saddle went right under its belly.
“My foot was stuck in the irons, so I ended up going with it. I went underneath the horse … ended up coming out of the stirrups, hitting the ground and rolling for another four or five metres.
“I landed on my left shoulder … and then the horse that was directly behind me went over the top of me and collected my right wrist.
“So, the injuries I sustained were … my left collar-bone AC and spiral fractures in the hand and wrist.
“We waited a week and then got the operation done on my hand … just on the hand so far … and we are feeling positive about the outcome of the first operation.
“The doctor is still deciding whether or not to operate on my shoulder. He is going to go back and assess the injury over the next couple of days and he will give me a call next Monday or Tuesday and give me his prognosis.
“I hope it will be a ‘we’ll just let it mend by itself’ job.
“If its only a mend job I’ll probably be out for six to seven weeks. If not and further treatment is needed, maybe it will be eight to ten weeks before I can get back to riding.
“Nothing’s certain yet but, either way, I am going to have a bit of a lengthy period out of action.
You have got to look at the positive though.
“It could have been a lot worse.
“I am very fortunate to have walked away with just a shoulder and a wrist injury,” concluded Smith.
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