- Shane Rose has ‘no memory’ of his serious accident
- Olympian has suffered multiple fractures
- He remains hopeful of reaching the Paris Games
Shane Rose has opened up about the fallout from his shocking recent riding accident, which has left his place at the Paris Olympics in doubt.
The 50-year-old rider, who had only just confirmed his place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, fell during cross-country training earlier this month.
He has broken bones in his legs, hips, elbow and ribs, and also has a concussion.
After waking up in intensive care, a confused Rose said he couldn’t remember what happened to him.
“I don’t remember much,” he told Nine’s A Current Affair. ‘I remember riding the horses in the morning, vaguely remembering that, not that anything overly exciting happened.
Shane Rose has spoken for the first time since his serious accident
The Olympian is recovering in hospital after breaking several bones
‘Apparently I rode four of my more experienced horses and I don’t remember jumping any of them or how it happened.
“The ambulance ride, going to the hospital, talking to doctors, nothing.”
According to witnesses, the nature of Rose’s injuries means it is reasonable to conclude that his horse, Bandit, jumped and fell on him.
“Two people heard it because he jumped pretty hard on the jump,” said his wife Niki. “And one of the girls looked over and saw the horse coming back and the horse was fine.”
It’s been a turbulent few weeks for the Olympian, who was briefly fired after a formal complaint was made over his decision to wear a Mankini to a fancy dress event.
Rose was eventually cleared, saying he had “pretty negative thoughts” during his first few days in the hospital.
“A little bit of fun, a little bit of fun and look, I think that’s a little bit of me,” he said of the mankini incident. ‘My nature is to enjoy life.
“I definitely felt less repercussions, although it did have some potential implications at the time.
The 50-year-old rider (along with his wife Nikki), who had only just confirmed his place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, fell during cross-country training on Thursday
‘But certainly the first few days I was in hospital, when I was quite average, I had quite negative thoughts.
‘Because I couldn’t get away from the situation and the pain and frustration of not being able to sleep, I couldn’t roll over. I tried to get the nurse to help me lie on my side, and it was excruciating.
‘I just really broke down. But it went well, the next morning I showered which was great. It’s amazing, a little shower can make you feel so much better.
‘I hit myself on the head for a while, but I had a quick chat with Niki and worked it out. I actually felt a lot better afterwards.’