A jockey who nearly died after a horrendous fall last year has revealed she still can’t remember the incident and admitted there were moments when she wished she hadn’t survived.
Leah Kilner was thrown from her filly, Stella Turn, as the field galloped along the home straight in the third race of the day in Grafton in New South Wales in July last year.
The 25-year-old was catapulted onto the turf and trampled upon by the horses after Stella Turn stumbled on the home straight.
Kilner was transported to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital, where she was placed in a coma with serious spinal and head injuries after undergoing surgery to ‘release the pressure on her brain’.
A year on from her horrific ordeal, the jockey reflected on the physical and mental toll the incident took on her life.
Jockey Leah Kilner nearly died after suffering a horrendous crash in July last year
Kilner was transported to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital, where she was placed in a coma with serious spinal and head injuries
The 25-year-old admitted there were times when she wished she had not survived the crash
‘The life I knew and loved was ripped away, with no memory of how or why, but a new one started,’ she wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram.
‘Grateful for the ones that have stuck solid by me from day one & helped me make it this far.’
Kilner candidly admitted that there were times during her recovery, when she wished she had not survived the incident.
‘There’s been a number of days I’ve partly wished I never made it and I may still not be able to do a lot of things, especially the thing I love,’ she continued.
‘But I’ve always said, I can walk and I can talk so I’m OK. And that I am grateful for.’
Ambulance officers ran on to the track to help the fallen rider, but an hour passed before she was taken by Westpac Rescue Helicopter to the hospital.
‘Because there was such a long delay of more than an hour before Leah was airlifted from the course, there was a great wave of concern for her from the other jockeys,’ Clarence River Jockey Club chief executive Michael Beattie said.
Kilner’s family, including her father Greg, who is a horse trainer, were both at the track and saw the horrific incident unfold.
The 25-year-old’s recovery from her horrific injury has progressed steadily over the past year
Kilner was left with 25 percent vision in her left eye in the immediate aftermath of the crash
Stella Turn was euthanised after the accident, while the remaining six races of the meet were postponed.
After being released from hospital last year, Kilner detailed the extent of her injuries on social media.
‘Wow who knew I’d be legitimately walking out of here and alive!’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘I’m here to tell the crazy story and thankful for all the people that have been here to support me and all the people that have sent a message, a prayer, anything at all, it’s all helped.
‘Apart from the severe head/brain trauma, I had a collar bone snapped in three, broken ribs, a small fracture in the ankle, my whole left side extremely weak and still tingly, even a closed left eye, which has me left with only 25 per cent vision.’
Kilner was regarded as one of the best up-and-coming jockeys in the country, riding more than 200 winner during her short career
Kilner also revealed some of her worst injuries weren’t physical.
‘We won’t forget the post traumatic amnesia I even attempted throwing myself out of bed to “wake myself up”,’ she said.
Kilner was regarded as one of the best up-and-coming jockeys in the country, riding more than 200 winner during her short career.
She narrowly missed out on the all-time record of 54 victories in the 2021-22 racing season after crossing the line in first place 46 times.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk