Fellow jockey 'grateful' she can't remember crash that killed friend

Canterbury jockey Samantha Wynne says there is one small personal mercy in the aftermath of the horror race fall that claimed the life of her friend Megan Taylor two weeks ago.

"I am grateful for one thing — that I can’t remember it," says Wynne from her Canterbury home.

The Irish-born jockey, 34, was one of four riders involved in the accident with 300m to run in race 2 at Ashburton on December 15, with 26-year-old Taylor pronounced dead at the track from her injuries.

Taylor’s death rocked the racing industry in New Zealand and overseas but was particularly hard on Wynne and the few South Island-based female jockeys, another of whom, Tina Comignaghi, was also involved in the accident.

There is no suggestion Taylor, Wynne or Comignaghi were responsible in any way for the accident.

"There aren’t many of us [female jockeys] down here, so we spend a lot of time together," says Wynne.

"I can honestly say it had been the happiest jockeys’ room I have been involved in, we were all getting on so well, so for us all, what happened to Megan is heart-breaking. But I am grateful I don’t remember the accident. I am grateful I couldn’t get up to go over and see how she was."

Along with the pain of the loss of a friend, Wynne has the physical pain of a broken collarbone that required surgery to have plates and screws inserted, two broken ribs on the left side of her body and a fracture in her pelvis.

"The pelvis could have been worse because it wasn’t a total break. I am home now and have good people looking after me and so many people in the racing industry have been great to me. They have helped look after me and my two horses I train, and I realise obviously how much worse my injuries could have been.

"My helmet was split in two because two horses went over top of me and even the stewardscame to see me at Megan’s funeral and said how lucky I am to be up and around.

"So it has been a horrible, horrible time but I am trying to be grateful for the small mercies."

Wynne says she is "90 per cent sure" she wants to return to racing next year.

"I think so, because it is something I love so much," she told the Herald.

"I think the doctors said I won’t be able to ride until June at the earliest, but to be honest, I wasn’t paying much attention. I hate hospitals so much, all I wanted to do was get out of there.

"But I am going back for an assessment on Friday, so I will know more then."

Wynne has more than 400 career wins in New Zealand, including 14 at black type races - winners names are published in industry publications in black type so buyers can get some idea of the horse’s form - but has also just started her training career and admits tragedies such as the Ashburton fall serve as a reminder of the dangers of life in the saddle and has her thinking more about a future as a trainer.

"I am trying to get well enough to look after my two horses, and who knows, maybe grow the team a bit and get into training more, as well as some riding.

"But as sore and as sad as I am now, I know I am the lucky one."