Horse racing is a dangerous sport in a lot of ways. With the high speeds, hurdles, and obstacles in the form of other competing jockeys, there are plenty of accidents along the way. In fact, according to a study conducted by Animal Aid, there have been 1746 horses killed while racing since the study began in 2007 - and that's just in Britain.
This just goes to show the dangers and stresses put on the animals in the sport, something that is evident when you see one of them take a tumble. In New Zealand earlier this summer, jockey Aaron Kuru and his horse, Des De Jeu, tripped and fell during a race, but somehow managed to bring it back.
During the Maiden Steeplechase at Awapuni, the horse fell onto his stomach, with the jockey slipping out of the saddle. However, Kuru managed to hold onto the reins and climb back aboard as the horse got to its feet once more. Somehow, the pair then made their way onwards to slip past the favourite in the 3,200-metre race.
You can see the stunning win in the video below:
“It was his first start over the fences, and he probably landed a bit steep and just went down,” Kuru explained to the New Zealand Herald. “I don’t really know and can’t explain it, as it just sort of happened. I got back on, and he drew himself back into the race. He’s got plenty of ability.”
“We thought he wasn’t a bad sort of an animal but, after the first fence, I wasn’t giving him too much of a chance,” Mark Oulaghan, the horse's trainer, said. “I was amazed [Kuru] got back on, as I thought he was gone."
