Recovery and the future

Team Twomey – Caroline Hooper and John Twomey

I don’t think that this is the story I set out to write. What I do know is that I am glad I did set out to write it, otherwise I may not have ever met or spoken properly with John Twomey.

I intended to write a story about a bloke that ended up on the wrong side of gravity and half a ton of living breathing horse flesh. Thankfully John Twomey lived to tell the tale that may have otherwise gone horribly wrong only three weeks ago at the Sydney World Cup event.

Earlier today, I visited John and his wife Caroline at the farm where they are currently living to talk to John about his incident, his injuries and his future. While our conversation did include plenty of discussion about what happened and the road to recovery what I found is a man who loves his sport and his horses.

What I also found and I know it sounds wrong or weird or both, is a man who seems to me to be richer for the experience than he may have otherwise been. I don’t mean in terms of money but in true richness, friendship, support and an outlook on life.

I just love taking pictures of sunsets

John and his mount Flaunt It suffered the worst of all circumstances for horse and rider, a rotational fall. Somehow, although Flaunt It landed on top of John and gave him some pretty horrid injuries, today he is walking, feeding up his horses and frustrated at the fact that he won’t be able to ride for at least a few more weeks.

John ended up with concussion, facial injuries, chest and lung injuries, shoulder damage, a dislocated hip and some fracturing to his pelvis. His helmet took a massive hit and compressed to about 50% of it’s original thickness. But really for a man who softened the fall of his horse, he looks bloody good.

John and Caroline have recently relocated to Australia after having spent most of the last decade in New Zealand. In fact, despite the fact that John was born in country Queensland, Australia, he rides under the Kiwi flag.

John got a taste for Eventing in the nineties and then went off and had a career elsewhere before returning to the sport almost by accident in 2003 while living in New Zealand. Recently Team Twomey have relocated back to Australia so that John can make a splash in the Aussie scene.

Since John and Caroline have been back in Australia they have been surprised and blessed with the support they have received from the equine community. During the last three weeks that support has been even more concentrated, John is almost awestruck by the offers, well wishes, phone calls, text messages and FaceBook messages.

This to me is why I love Eventing we have a fantastic community that sticks together especially when things don’t go to plan. This community is what makes the insanity in the middle so worthwhile. After John’s incident I heard comments from people that he is one of the nicest riders in the sport, always thanking volunteers, being respectful of committees and generally nice to be around.

2011johnIMG_9058_1-1.jpgJohn Twomey and Wade Equine Flaunt It, photo courtesy of Furdography

I also heard some thoughts from a few ladies that were worried that his facial injuries might spoil his good looks. While I am no judge I am pretty sure his few new scars only add character and I now understand those that said he is one of the nice guys.

I could talk to John and Caroline for hours, about the sport, horses, safety and just about anything else. While today’s chat was over coffee, I look forward to the day when I can chat to John over a few beers and really hear some old war stories.

What happened three weeks ago was a blip and in the scheme of things will probably become one of those old war stories, perhaps accompanied in the future with a medal, preferably the gold kind. What I do know for sure is that the Aussie Eventing scene is richer for having John back home.

Perhaps we can convince him to ride for Australia, those Kiwis don’t need anymore help at the moment, what with young gun Clarke Johnstone making his mark, old guard Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson killing it in Europe occasionally we need to claim one of our own back. I tell you what Kiwis, we will take John and give you back Russell Crowe, a fair swap I think.

I am looking forward to seeing more of John Twomey on the Eventing scene and we will one day see him competing on the world stage, under what flag? I hope it is Aussie.

Yours in Eventing

ESJ

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