‘I thought I was dead’, says veteran horseman

He’s as tough as old boots, but wily Victorian harness racing horseman Tony Peacock admits he thought his latest misadventure was it.

“The scary thing was that I thought this is it, I’m dead,” Peacock, of Toolamba, near Shepparton, said.

“I spent a night in hospital, and they looked after me, but the pain is unbearable. I’ve got sore spots everywhere and I reckon my left elbow is the worst.”

Peacock, who admits he’s used up a few of his nine lives during 50 years in the sport, has now decided it’s time to cut back.

“We’ve got about 80 horses here and we’ve decided everything is for sale,” Peacock said.

“There are some exceptionally bred broodmares, along with yearlings, two and three-year-olds and older horses. Three of the yearlings are by American Ideal, who died last month,” he said.

“There are a few trotters that we really like. Anyone looking for a horse is welcome to give us a call and come out.”

Peacock said his latest brush with death happened early last week when he was jogging a youngster.

“We’d just started to walk off from the rail and hadn’t gone all that far at all when it got a fright and started bucking and kicking,” he said.

“It was double barreling with both back legs initially and then just got completely out of control.

“I went through the dust sheet, but one of my legs slipped and ended up down through the fork that holds the wheel. My partner Shelley was screaming at me to get my foot out.

“I knew what I needed to do, but I couldn’t do it. I still had the reins at some stage, but I was unable to get a grip of anything to try and pull my leg and foot clear.

“I got dragged probably 500 metres as the horse took me on an obstacle course. All the rubber on one of my boots got worn away and I finished up with dirt everywhere – in my mouth, eyes and ears and I got some bad lacerations.

“Fortunately, I got clear before the horse jumped a gate and that’s when the jog cart got ripped off. Shelley called an ambulance and the once I was in hospital I went into shock.”

In 2017 Peacock was hospitalized and had a long recovery when he was catapulted from a cart onto his head in a training accident, breaking his neck between the C2 and C3 vertebra.

“This latest one was worse than that one, because that time I didn’t have time to think and was just knocked out,” he said.

“This time they’ve x-rayed everything from that previous accident and while my neck is stiff and sore, they say I’m pretty good. I just know I am very, very lucky to be alive.”

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink