Jockey needs £11,500 reconstruction after teeth "destroyed" by horse headbutt

05 January 2023 , 13:24

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Amy Graham was rushed to hospital after being headbutted by a horse (Image: amyrgee.x/Instagram)

Jockey Amy Graham has been left needing £11,500 mouth reconstruction work she was "headbutted by a horse" and her teeth were "absolutely destroyed".

The incident occurred at around 5.30am on Wednesday morning when Graham was doing trackwork with a horse in Queensland. She shared an image of herself on social media giving a thumbs up from a hospital bed with the caption: "2023 off to a flying start.

"Headbutted by a horse, teeth absolutely destroyed. Potentially broke my jaw too. I'm doing OK guys, thanks for the messages. Morphine is a beautiful thing."

Trainer John Zielke told Racenet : "The horse threw its head back and the pole, the bone between the horse's ears, and hit her in the mouth. It knocked a couple of teeth out.

"The dentist said she has to get a AU$20,000 (£11,500) mouth reconstruction. I told her if she wanted new teeth she could find better ways to do it. She will have to have a week off now."

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Graham was with fellow jockey Chris Caserta when he tragically died at the age of just 26 in 2021 after the pair went for a late night swim at the Surfers Paradise Beach on the Gold Coast.

Graham posted an image on social media from her hospital bed (amyrgee.x/Instagram)

Graham recently paid tribute to Caserta after making her race riding debut in September. "He was my biggest supporter, he was always telling me I could do it and become a jockey," she told Racing Queensland.

"I did not really believe in myself a whole lot because I do not come from a racing background, my family are not racing or horse people to be honest. Looking around at everyone on the Gold Coast, they all seem to come from a very rich racing genes and I said that to Chris one day and he quickly told me that he also did not come from a racing background.

"He told me I could become a jockey like him and that just because we did not come from a racing background, that does not mean we could not be successful in racing. I looked at all the success that Chris had and it gave me a lot of motivation and belief in myself."

Matthew Cooper