From car crash to Cup Week win
In February, a car crash left Canterbury harness racing driver Pete Davis in hospital with serious injuries.
Now he has driven a horse also injured that day to glory.
Davis and his partner, horse trainer Margo Nyhan, were driving five horses to Rangiora when their horse float collided with another car on the outskirts of Christchurch.
At a Cup Week meeting in the city on Friday, Davis was back with the reins of Overzealous, affectionately known as Panda, when the pair pulled off a win to the cheers of an adoring crowd.
The 4-year-old mare was the least injured of the five horses in the crash, suffering lacerations to her legs.
It was a major comeback, given the couple were lucky to be alive. The car and float ended up on their side and Nyhan had to be cut out by a fire crew.
Game Changer had to be euthanised at the crash scene because of his injuries.
‘‘It was pretty traumatic. The worst thing was the horses being down in the truck,’’ Davis said.
‘‘I was dragged out of the truck but the worst thing was lying there and Margo was still trapped in the truck. She wanted out of there obviously and then the horses started screaming at the back, so it was the worst thing you could ever experience, really.’’ Davis spent three weeks in hospital recovering from a neck injury, broken ribs and shoulder blade.
The race at Addington was Davis’ fourth time with the reins since the accident after a return to racing three weeks ago.
Nyhan came out of the crash with a badly broken wrist, which she is still receiving treatment for, broken ribs and an injured cheek bone. More than eight months on she has just been given the go-ahead to return to her job as a trainer part-time.
Panda and the other surviving horses had bounced back from the trauma of the accident, Davis said.
The couple paid more $4000 in vet bills and are hoping to settle with insurers soon.