10 January 2011 Injury News
by Carolyn Tanner
Carolyn Tanner reports on Riders in the wars from recent meetings.
Alfie Bradstock, 16, the son of trainer Mark Bradstock, was airlifted to hospital after his mount Something Cristal fell in the Restricted Division Two and he received a kick in the ribs from a horse following. He is due to be operated on today (Monday) for a partially collapsed lung, and is expected to make a full recovery.
Earlier in the year Alfie, who was having his first ride, won a team gold medal in the European Eventing Pony Championships.
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20-year-old Kris Hanmer was also airlifted after being knocked unconscious in a Maiden race fall from Soul Town, trained by his employer Patrick Bryant, but he was released from hospital later that evening.
Kris had enjoyed a better start to the day when he won the turnout prize for one of his charges, Cousin John.
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It has proved to be an unbelievably torrid time for Curly Holdforth, whose sister recently died of a brain tumour and whose funeral takes place this week. 49-year-old Curly was taken to hospital with a badly broken arm when his mount Ring The Boss came to grief in the Men's Open. He had the arm pinned and screwed the same evening, and he also faces the possibility of an operation on his collarbone.
Curly actually announced his retirement from race-riding in 2008 but made a comeback last season.
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Lizzie Luxton, who took a very heavy fall when Diddypurptoon rose no higher than halfway at the eighth in Division One of the Maiden - "She went a heck of a slap," reported one of her concerned rivals - happily escaped with nothing worse than a broken collarbone.
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Earlier in the week Ally Stirling fractured a bone in her arm when Ballyvoge fell at Chaddesley Corbett, but it is an injury which she hopes will not keep her off for too long. It was not until later in the day that she felt the effects of the damage, as she had already ridden in a subsequent race!
