Grit, determination and Bronte’s remarkable comeback

Two years ago, it looked like young Tasmanian harness racing star Bronte Miller would need a miracle to return to the career she loved – but it’s been grit and determination that have got her back to the track.

“It’s been very hard at times, and I was going to give up at some points. But then I thought I’m not going to achieve anything sitting around sooking,” Miller, now 20, said.

She no doubt counts herself lucky to be alive after a horrifying road accident on January 30, 2023, when a Ford Ranger towing a loaded four-horse float crashed on the Batman Highway at Rowella, north of Launceston, while travelling home from a Hobart meeting.

Miller was one of the passengers in the vehicle which was on the way back to the stables of prominent trainer Ben Yole.

Miller suffered serious injuries, including losing vision in her right eye.

“I spent two-and-a-half weeks in hospital. I broke my left hip and dislocated my right one, and my right foot and hand were broken too,” she said.

“Originally my hip was pinned, but there were another two operations, the latest to get all the metal work out. Then after doing surgery on my hand to fix the thumb, they found all the ligaments up to my elbow had become detached.

“It’s been nearly two years, but it certainly feels a lot longer. My recovery has been good, and I think everything is finally getting back to normal.”

Miller said her determination to get back to driving pushed her on through long sessions of rehabilitation.

“Not returning to race driving wasn’t on my radar. If anyone suggested I shouldn’t or couldn’t do it again, I use to think ‘no way, that’s bulldust’!” she said.

“I think my dad was happy for me not to get out there again, but then he decided that, at the end of the day, it’s my life.”

Miller decided to get her trainer’s licence during her downtime, and now has two horses in work. She worked gradually up to driving flat out in trackwork, and at that point knew she was ready to resume race driving.

“My doctor didn’t have any problems regarding a medical clearance. He was only too happy to let me do something I badly wanted,” she said.

“I just had to adjust to wearing glasses under my goggles, but off to the trials I went, and it felt great.”

After being granted her licence, Miller returned to racing on a horse she trains and her “stable favorite”, Dapper at Burnie on December 13.

Dapper was Miller’s last winning drive on the night of the accident and while her first drive back wasn’t the fairytale Miller, and many others, were hoping for (Dapper galloped and finished 10^th), it was a hugely significant step forward.

“I may have been a bit nervous, but I approached it as if it was like a trial. I know I just felt so relieved as deep down I probably never thought I’d drive again,” Miller said.

“Dapper did a few things wrong and I was out the back, then at Launceston a couple of days later (on Ducane for Michael Dornauf) they were flying – they actually broke the track record in that race.”

Miller started driving in the 2019-20 season, and in 2022 was Tasmania’s leading female driver.  She showed exceptional skill and has 66 wins and 181 placings to her name.

She said her months on the sidelines, while frustrating, were not wasted.

“I feel I can be a better driver through watching so many races on television during my recovery. I just want to get that first winner out of the way!” she said.

“A lot of people have helped me out – early days, (SA reinswoman) Dani Hill (who herself lost an eye in a race fall more than a decade ago) was a great support. Bianca Heenan and Nathan Ford have been like my second home when I’ve needed to chill out. And Bill and Michael Dornauf and Tammy Langley gave me trial drives when I was getting back into it.

“And mum and dad, of course have been amazing.  Mum did everything for me and I admit I wasn’t a good patient at times. She was awesome and now she is going to TAFE and doing a course in nursing!”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink