Serious crash for champion reinswoman Kerryn Manning

Champion reinswoman Kerryn Manning is set for a significant stint on the sidelines after a serious fall at the Horsham harness racing trials last Thursday.

Manning was dislodged from the sulky and fell on her back, with follow-up x-rays revealing three broken vertebrae that require more than a month of rest to heal.

The 47-year-old great of the sport recalled the incident during an interview with Campbell’s Comments.

“I went up in the air in the cart and landed awkwardly on my back on the shaft and hyperextended myself backwards,” Manning said.

“It hurt, but it wasn’t too bad. I was stuck in the dust sheet and the little two-year-old, he just stopped, pulled up to a walk and stood there, which was lucky because I didn’t have a lot of control if he’d taken off or anything.”

Manning decided to seek the advice of a physiotherapist, who subsequently sent her for the x-rays that discovered breaks in her back.

“That was a good explanation as to why the pain hadn’t gone away,” she said.

“They’re three vertebrae in-a-row in the lower back and right on the outer edges of the vertebrae is where the breaks are. They’re clean and stable, so not near the spinal cord at all.

“Basically, I can’t do anything for it other than rest. No driving, just light duties. No twisting or lifting kind of thing.

“It’s a six-week period of healing. Being the way they’re broken, they’re not in a bad way so hopefully we can have the minimum healing time.”

by Tim O’Connor, for Harness Racing Victoria