I COULDN’T have picked a worse time of year to get injured.
It’s incredibly frustrating as there is so much good racing going on at the moment, but I’m not letting it get me down.
Bryony faces a race against time to be back for the King George
With an injury like a broken collarbone, you know the damage you’ve done the second you hit the deck after a fall.
It’s like a sharp bee-sting sensation and I immediately knew what had happened. The first aid staff at Bangor were great and looked after me.
I landed on the same shoulder that I injured at Aintree back in April which kept me off the track for a long time.
So in a way I’m thankful that I didn’t do more serious damage, and I’m working around the clock to be back as soon as I can.
I am very optimistic that I will be back in time for the King George on Boxing Day, if not a few days before the Christmas break.
I’ve been in and out of Oaksey House in Lambourn over the last couple of weeks, and I won’t be the first to tell you just how incredible the guys at the Injured Jockeys Fund are.
An important part of the recovery is keeping the collarbone area stable so the broken bones marry up and calcify and start to heal.
But I’ve been doing physio as well to try and strengthen my shoulder, and the facilities they have at Oaksey House are the bees knees.
I’ve been doing a lot of work in the hydro pool which takes all the weight off the injury but allows you to exercise the muscles around it.
I’m not going to let it get me down – there is no point getting stressed out about something that is out of my control.
All I can do is try and get myself fit and firing as soon as possible. I will be taking a fitness test next weekend to see how I’m getting on, so that will be an important day.
The one who isn’t too frustrated is my dog Merlin – he is loving having me around a lot more!
Let’s hope the racing survives the cold weather this weekend as Team Ditcheat has some great chances – I’ll be cheering them on from the sofa.
As always, stay safe and keep kicking.
