John Kissick faces up to six months on the sidelines with fractured leg

He suffered the horrific injury after being kicked by another horse behind the barriers on the opening day of the Wagga carnival last week.

Kissick, 29, said he instantly knew he was in trouble in what he described as a 'freak accident.'

"It was a freak accident and it's not too often you get kicked when you are on a horse," Kissick said.

"It was my only ride for the day .

"A few of my other rides were scratched.

"I saw the horse bunny hop out the corner of my eye but as soon as I felt the impact I knew I was in serious trouble.

"The pain was excruciating and even after the paramedics had given me the green whistle it didn't take the edge off the pain.

"It was pretty intense."

Kissick was transferred to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital where scans revealed he had fractured his leg in four places.

"They put my leg in a cast while I was waiting for surgery," he said.

"I had the operation on Friday and had two plates and eight screws inserted into my leg.

"I was allowed to go home on Saturday."

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Kissick was taking a philosophical approach towards the injury.

"Injuries are a part of most sports," he said.

"At the end of the day it's only a broken leg and hopefully it heals fine.

"Hopefully I'll be back within a couple of months and will be able to get stuck back into it.

"I was disappointed to miss out on Wagga Cup day though as I thought had a good book of rides."

Kissick only returned to riding last May after suffering a serious back injury.

He had been sidelined since October 2016 when he fractured his T-12 vertebrae after being thrown from a steer and landing awkwardly.

The talented hoop recently notched 400 career winners and has won the Southern District jockeys premiership on three occasions.

"The surgeon estimates it will be between four to six months before I will be able to ride again," he said.

"I'm not allowed to put any weight on my leg for at least six weeks.

"Once I'm allowed to put weight on my leg and start physio, it will be four to six months before I'm allowed on a horse again."

Kissick said he was slowly regaining his best form after returning almost 12 months ago.

"It took a while to get back in the swing of things and the local jockey ranks are ultra competitive," he said.

"But I was happy with the form I was in and I had ridden 20 plus winners since I had been back.

"I was starting to get back into the swing of things and now this happens but that's just the nature of the beast I guess.

"You are going to get injuries and you just have to roll with the punches."

Kissick lives in Wangaratta and mainly rides track work for trainers Dan McCarthy and James Fraser.

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