Apprentice jockey Dale Cole’s inspiring return to the saddle
Apprentice jockey Dale Cole’s winning double at Goulburn last Thursday at just his second time to the races proved memorable for more reasons than one.
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Trainer Danny Williams admits to shedding a tear or two after his apprentice jockey Dale Cole punched home a winning double at Goulburn last Thursday.
And for a mighty good reason.
While on this occasion there were tears of joy flowing it was a vastly different story at the same venue 20 months earlier, when Cole was involved in a trackwork mishap that left the then 23-year-old with horrific injuries.
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“We had a couple of clients attend the stables that wanted to see their young horses work so Dale and I took two of them out for a trot and canter,” Williams reflected.
“Things were going well and the horse Dale was on was as quiet as a mouse but she resented having another horse beside her and bucked.
“The second time she bucked the saddle shifted and Dale came over the front and she dragged him at three-quarter pace for around 300m until his leg finally came out of the irons.
“With the way it happened she galloped on him a couple of times as well.”
Such was the magnitude of Cole’s injuries, which included five broken ribs, a punctured lung, snapped femur and broken pelvis, medical experts had to relieve the pressure from his lungs on site before he could be flown to hospital.
“His broken leg was pulled right out of the socket … it’s still hard to talk about now,” Williams said.
“When we first called the ambulance they said it could be 60-90 minutes but thankfully a few things happened and they were there within about 20 minutes.
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“The whole experience, just feeling so helpless and not being able to do more for him at the time was very traumatic, still is now.
“He’s a great kid from a terrific family and very resilient. When he first came to me he hadn’t been on the back of a horse. I sent him away to get some basic training and have helped him along from there.
“I’m extremely proud of what he’s achieved in such a short amount of time. But he’s not the finished product and he knows that.”
After spending three weeks in hospital where he underwent a number of surgeries, Cole was sent home to continue his rehabilitation and put himself back together, both mentally and physically.
For those around him a return to the saddle seemed forlorn but not for Cole who had a steely resolve from the outset.
“The plan was to always find my way back,” Cole said.
“I couldn’t walk for the first four months and then had to get around with a walking stick for about another six months after that.
“With everything that happened I was pretty incapacitated for a while but I’ve really tried to put that behind me now and just focus on what’s next, not what’s been.
“I’ve had to tick a lot of boxes with the doctors along the way. It’s been a long road and there were days where I got a bit down about it all but never really had the thought of giving up.”
For Cole, that hard work and resilience paid off in the most memorable fashion last Thursday when in front of friends and family he steered home Let’s Go Brandon for Goulburn trainer Wayne Hudd and Chemtrail to victory for his master, Danny Williams.
“It was a bit overwhelming to be honest – pretty emotional,” Cole said.
“Danny has been so good for me and to be able to win for him after everything, yeh it was pretty special.
“Before the accident I had a lot of goals but for now I’m just taking it all in my stride and worrying about working hard and the next ride.”
For Cole, that’s expected to be at Albury on Friday, where he’ll be back in the saddle looking to make up for more lost time.
Originally published as Apprentice jockey Dale Cole’s inspiring return to the saddle
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