Piere Strydom – broken collar bone
Multiple time champion jockey Piere Strydom sustained a nasty fall off Louis Goosen charge, Winter Breeze after the pull up of race 5 at the Vaal on Thursday, 11 February 2016.
He was rushed to hospital at the nearby Mediclinic in Vereeniging, where he was diagnosed with concussion and a broken right collar bone. After assessment, he was transferred to the Union Hospital in Alberton yesterday evening which is closer to home.
Long grass
Speaking from his hospital room this morning, ‘Striker’ reported feeling “not too bad” and is scheduled for surgery to have a plate put on his collar bone. Asked how the fall happened, he explained that there have been complaints about the condition of the Vaal track and the length of the grass at the pull up area in particular, as it has reportedly been causing horses to stumble.
Winter Breeze, who races in the interests of Mr M Ferreira, tripped at the pull up after yesterday’s race. Her front legs collapsed and she fell forward onto her head. Pierre fell off, landing on his head and shoulder and sustaining a concussion and broken collar bone. Fortunately the incident took place after the finish line and no other horses or riders were injured.
Winter Breeze
The on course vet examined Winter Breeze and although she was reported unsound on her off fore, she survived the incident relatively unscathed.
It is the fourth time Piere has broken his collar bone. While this sort of injury normally takes 6-8 weeks to heal, complications can extend the recovery period and Piere relates that the last time he suffered a broken collar bone, it took nearly 6 months to heal. However, at this stage his biggest concern is missing Dubai, but if all goes well, he hopes to be back in action in time to ride on World Cup night.
Thanks
Striker asked to make particular mention of the Vaal’s medical team, trainers Louis Goosen and Michael Azzie and SAJA riding master Gary Waterston for their assistance at the scene as well as long time friend Bary Redford for all his help. Piere and his wife Claudia also asked to thank everyone for the phone calls and messages that have been streaming in and promise to keep us posted on his progress.
He is scheduled for surgery early this afternoon and we wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.
