Amanda Turnbull on countdown for race return

The most successful harness racing reinswoman in New South Wales Amanda Turnbull is hoping to return to race driving within a month after being sidelined with horrific injuries sustained during trackwork.

“I’m pretty much all healed up, with the exception of my index finger on my right hand. It doesn’t stretch out properly – it’s like the skin is too tight and restricting it,” Turnbull said.

“I’ll know more this week when I have another appointment with the specialists. I’m really pushing to get the clearance to start driving again on March 1. I decided I needed to give myself a target!”

Turnbull received serious injuries when a horse she was driving took fright and bolted during an early morning jogging session at a Tweed Heads property near the NSW/Qld border on November 19. She was catapulted heavily to the ground and later rushed by ambulance to the Tindara Hospital on the Gold Coast.

Doctors found the 35-year-old, who has recorded nine Group 1 victories and one listed classic, had four broken ribs, multiple fractured vertebrae, disc damage and a severely damaged right hand.

“I received a big gash to my hand which needed skin grafts. I was in hospital for 10 days but stayed up there for another week to see bone specialists and a skin graft surgeon,” Turnbull said.

“When I was admitted to hospital I didn’t know where I was. I had some awful allergic reactions to the medication.”

Turnbull said she’s “feeling good” and has been back in the cart jogging horses at her stables at The Lagoon, near Bathurst, for about a week.

“We’re doing 25 horses at the moment. Isobel Ross and my younger brother Mitch have been terrific keeping things ticking along. When I got home, I did as many light duties as I could to help them, like driving the jogger car.

“We’ve had a couple going around at the races, which has kept us interested. There’s a lot of babies coming through and we plan on trialling them next month.”

Turnbull said she was most appreciative of lots of messages received from well-wishers.

“When I started feeling well enough to go to the races, I had a lot of people coming up and checking in on me too, which was nice. It was much the same when I was out for two months after breaking my pelvis in a fall at Bathurst in 2010.”

Five weeks prior to the training accident, Turnbull had reached 2500 winners as a driver.

“That was pretty special. But a lot of hard work and a lot of miles,” she said at the time.

“I’ve had some awesome horses to drive over the years. But ever since I was a kid, this is all that I wanted to do. While I enjoy driving, I’m happy to now concentrate a lot more on training and have a bit of a lifestyle.”

And how did the popular horsewoman spend her time when laid up at home recuperating from her latest setback?

“I watched Yellowstone – the whole series. It was something I really wanted to do and would fully recommend it,” she said.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink