CATCHING UP WITH CORNISH - THE RECOVERY REPORT

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Nine months and counting! That, in simply terms, is the latest recovery report for Jasmine Cornish who suffered significant, career threatening injuries in a fall at the trails at Beaudesert back in November last year ... but, in essence, the path travelled by Cornish since that unfortunate incident has been anything but simple. With pain as an almost constant companion, the process of natural physical healing from surgery on her broken back, coupled with tough the physio regime that followed and the arduous mental challenge of handling the frustration at the slowness of the process while still staying focussed on a positive end game has all fully tested the resolve of the young rider. HRO has documented this story of perseverance from the start and this is the latest in the ‘Catching Up With Cornish’ series of articles, which, as always, is presented in Cornish’s own words.

“I’m pretty much weaned off any pain medication now. I do take it every now and then, but it could be like once a week ... it’s not every day now.

“I’ve still got a lot of pinching going on down the right side of my body which I complained a lot about during physio. It was too much. The doctors agreed that I could stop physio and just ride trackwork as exercise.

“Just yesterday, I contacted work-cover and asked if I could be referred to a second doctor. I wanted to see if I could request an MRI or something to have a look at what is happening around the pinching area to see if they could help me work out just what is going on with that ... so I can know if it is something that is going to stay there forever ... or if it is something that I must worry about ... or is it something that will mend.

“Sometimes the pinching is constant. It can ease sometimes, but, for example on a Sunday where I don’t even ride any trackwork and don’t really do anything at all, the pinching can be really bad, especially when I go to pick anything up using my right arm.

“It jabs me under my shoulder-blade. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I just ignored it for so long thinking it was just taking time as part of the healing process and would just go away, but it’s been nine months since the accident so its time to have another look at it.
“So, I guess, that’s where I am physically.”
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“I am riding trackwork now, which is good.

“I’ve managed to pick up that workload from the one or two horses I started out with and now I ride anywhere from six to eight horse ... I’m pretty consistent with that.

“Fitness-wise, it didn’t take long for my fitness to improve. When I first came back it was a bit of a struggle just riding that one horse, but I just had to accept that I had been so stiff and so sore for so long, that I would have to work through that.

‘There was a time when I wasn’t able to do much. Just being awake was painful, so I definitely had to take my time, but now that I’m back to riding those six to eight horses, things are progressing much better.

“It’s still a bit painful, but I feel it has got better now that I’ve built up muscle ... but, as I mentioned, I’ve still got that pinching problem that I’m dealing with.

“If I’m good to myself and let myself rest a bit it is better, but that sometimes is easier said than done. Working with horses I sometimes get distracted and don’t think about it until the end of the day ... and, if I’ve had a very long day, my body can sometimes feel it has been hit by a truck, so it’s still very hard.”
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“As far as eventually getting back to race riding is concerned, I’m pretty sure I will have to do ten trials first.

“I haven’t asked the stewards, but I believe if you have been off for some time, particularly after an accident, you have to get those ten trials under your belt.

“I was going to trial one of dad’s horses at Beaudesert this week and see how I went, but, since dad didn’t end up having a horse trialling, I didn’t end up doing that.

‘That’s another example of how you can be distracted away from the bigger picture in the moment because my mind was so set on ‘yes ... I’m going to trial at Beaudesert’ that I was just forgetting about everything else that was going on with me.

“But then, after I realised I would not be doing that trial, I sat down and thought ... wow ... I can’t be getting ahead of myself like that. I have got to sort out my back first.

“Everybody reminds me that I am young, I’ve got time and that I should make sure I am alright first before rushing into anything ... and I agree with them ... and then I get on a horse and forget about everything.

“So, I’ve had a think about that and have had to pull myself into line a little bit and work out my limits with the pinching still in play.

“I thought ... yeah, I’m ok, but I can’t say I’m good ... so, I’m happy to wait again now and get that new referral and get that pinching problem resolved first.

“I contacted work-cover and they will hopefully help get that referral sorted for me and then we can take it from there.

“So now I’m just waiting to have that next check-up and get a second opinion.

“I’m definitely ready to trial though ... just need that green light first.”

In the 2020/21 season, the season prior to her accident in November 2022, Cornish won the Queensland Provincial Apprentice Jockeys’ Premiership, beating the formidable Angela Jones by just half-a-win (81.5 to 81 wins). Jones, of course, went on to dominate the Brisbane Metropolitan Apprentice Jockey Premiership in masterly fashion ... a Premiership in which Cornish still finished in third place, in spite of the fact that she was out of action for nearly nine months of the season, a fact which serves to emphasise the huge potential Cornish was showing at the time of her major setback and the level of performance she will hopefully to be able to target and regain when she does return to competitive race riding.
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