IT’S been nearly a week since a freak accident sent Danny Williams to hospital, but the highly regarded horse man is confident his team can continue the job without him.
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The Goulburn based trainer had fallen off a horse at his stables last Saturday morning.
He was rushed to Goulburn Base Hospital and was later sent by ambulance to Canberra.
Speaking from his hospital bed on Wednesday, Williams reassures that’s he’s doing ok and is taking it one day at a time.
He explains the incident occurred when the horse he was riding bucked suddenly.
“It bucked fairly high, and when I was coming back down again in the air I was separated from the saddle. When he was coming up again I’ve hit the saddle in the front of my (groin) and it split me,” Williams said.
“I heard it fracture. I heard it crack and it split me open in the front of the pelvis.
“It split me wide enough so it was like a book, the back of my pelvis was also fractured and also separated.
“It continued to buck four or five times after that. Luckily I was able to step off while it was bucking and roll off to the side out of the way.
“But I knew straight away that I’d hurt myself pretty bad when I had hit the saddle.”
Williams was rushed to Canberra Hospital with internal bleeding and required surgery.
Although doctors were concerned, he says there was no threat to life.
“I had an operation Sunday morning to put in a clutch in my pelvis to stop the bleeding,” Williams said.
“I’ll have another this Sat (tomorrow) or Sunday to put in a screw into the pelvis to pull it and keep it together.”
Fellow trainer John Bateman, who shares the stables previously used by the late Guy Walter, was at the scene when the accident happened.
“He thought he was alright for a while, but he started to get worse and worse as the time went on,” Bateman said.
“He thought he was just hurt and he tried to get up but he couldn’t, so we made him lay back down and we eventually called an ambulance.”
Williams doesn’t know how long he will have to remain in hospital but he expects to be there for a lengthy stay.
A minimum of six weeks, he estimates.
The upside of the situation is full faith in his team that they can handle the stables in his absence.
“I’ve got good staff and I’ve got a number of people working to make sure the job runs smoothly,” he said.
“(My injury) means that I won’t be riding myself. It means that I’ll be guided by my team, which I have full confidence in.”