By Bill Finley
Emma-Jayne Wilson, involved in a Oct. 25 spill at Woodbine in which she suffered neck and pelvic fractures, remains in a Toronto hospital and is bedridden, but is already looking forward to launching a comeback when Woodbine re-opens in April.
Wilson, 43, was riding the horse Ready Shakespeare (More Than Ready) in that day's second race. The horse fell after suffering an apparent heart attack and Wilson was thrown to the track.
“I remember everything,” she said from her hospital bed at Milton District Hospital. “Right from the git-go, I remember the race itself. I remember my horse losing his cadence and changing the way he was traveling. So I knew something was wrong. And from that moment to the impact, it was very fast. I kind of grabbed a hold of him to try to pull him up. We ended up going down and I remember hitting the inner rail. I knew what I had done.”
After she underwent surgery at Sunnybrook Hospital, she was transferred to Milton District, a blessing, she said, because that hospital is only five minutes from her home.
“Going to that hospital has been very beneficial for myself and my family,” she said. “My girls have been able to come by and see me more often, which is a big help to me.”
While Wilson has a long road ahead, she is focused on getting healthy and returning to riding.
“I'm doing as well as can be expected given the situation,” she said. “Things are steadily progressing.”
However, she is not allowed to bear any weight and remains bedridden.
“I'm limited so far as my movements go,” Wilson said. “I'm not allowed to bear any weight. I'm sort of confined to a bed and to a chair. That's mildly irritating, but it is necessary.
She is not sure when she will be released from the hospital.
“I don't know how much longer I'll be in the hospital,” Wilson said. “I have follow-up appointments this week. I'm anticipating once we get X-rays and scans and what not we'll have better idea of how things have gone post surgery and a better idea what the next stage will be.”
She will require months of physical therapy, but doesn't see any reason why she won't be ready for the 2025 season at Woodbine.
“I should be ready by then,” she said. “I'll definitely need a few more months to recover. We'll wait to see when I'm fully recovered and have regained my fitness level. It's still in early stages right now.”
It's clear that she is not feeling sorry for herself. She understands that accidents like the one she experienced are an unfortunate part of racing.
“When you're an athlete, accidents are something that you have to be prepared for,” she said. “This is something where I'm going to give the same amount of focus and dedication to my recovery as I always have to my career. That's what I'll be focused on for the next few months.”
On July 11, 2024, she won the fourth race at Woodbine to become the highest-earning female jockey in history, surpassing the record of $90,126,584 previously held by Hall of Fame rider Julie Krone. Wilson has been riding since 2004 and has amassed 1,930 wins and $91,393,445 in earnings.
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