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Caitlyn’s quest: From bed-ridden to booting home winners

Unable to shower without lurching into an excruciating spasm, “shuffling” rather than walking, house-bound and virtually bed-ridden, SA apprentice jockey Caitlin Jones admits she felt defeated.

Her quality of life nosedived and her riding career appeared over as she encountered the effects of a debilitating and severe back condition: bulging discs.

“Everyday normal functions were almost impossible,” Caitlin said.

“I spent most of my days on the couch or in bed. I could generally only sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs and I was obviously on heavy medication to help with the nerve pain.

“Showering was almost impossible because anything more than lukewarm water just aggravated it and sent it into spasm.

“Getting dressed was so hard, as was doing washing or standing still trying to cook a meal. Even if it was just for 10 minutes I’d be useless for the rest of the day because it would just aggravate it so much.

“And mentally it was very draining.”

Caitlin’s recent return to race riding – highlighted so far by metropolitan winners at successive Morphettville meetings for her bosses Richard and Chantelle Jolly – was the culmination of a long and extremely painful journey, but hopefully marked the beginning of an overdue change of luck.

“I’m so happy just being back in the races, in that atmosphere, doing what I love,” she said.

“Because at one point there I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to get back.”

Caitlin’s misfortunes began in earnest in 2016, when serious sinus issues – that dehydrated her organs and ultimately led to an MRI – saw her miss a sizeable chunk of time in the saddle.

Her back problems started after a trackwork fall in August 2018.

“Within three weeks of that fall the repercussions were showing,” she said.

“It became so painful that I wasn’t able to work, so I took time off to let that aggravation – a bulging disc – settle.”

Upon her return, Caitlin was offered a chance to recommence her indenture with Richard and Chantelle Jolly, and by February 2019 was riding again. However, the back condition soon flared and a subsequent MRI revealed she in fact had two bulging discs in her lower back. After taking another break – on medical advice – she returned to work in late August for a few weeks, riding a couple of horses at trackwork per day before her back “failed again”.

After a subsequent cortisone injection – which she described as “horrendous and probably the most painful thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life” – failed to have the desired effect, a decision was made to bite the bullet and undergo a discectomy.

“It’s shaving of the disc, because those two discs were obviously bulging and compressing the main nerve that runs into my right leg,” she said.

“So I was borderline paralysed in that leg.”

Caitlin went in for surgery on November 20 last year – with mixed feelings.

“I was nervous because this was the tell-tale whether I’d come out of this with full recovery,” she said.

“A couple of days before the surgery I got really down. I thought that if it failed, I didn’t know what I was going to do, because I love what I do.”

Fortunately, the surgery was a success and Caitlin’s recovery progressed even better than she could have hoped.

“The first week after the op I had no pain at all and it was so unusual for me,” she said.

“The second week, when things were adjusting, I had a bit of difficulty, but once I got through the third week and I was able to start those small rehab exercises it made all the difference straight away.

“Those first few weeks of rehab were the hardest though, because I knew my movement and strength weren’t like they used to be.

“I did as much as my body could handle, without damaging or hurting myself. I’m an avid runner – I rely on it to keep me fit and light – but I remember the first time I ran I did 2km and I couldn’t believe how much I struggled.

“But fortunately the surgery and my recovery went well. I made a quick recovery and everything’s been smooth sailing since.

“I’ve been very grateful to Richard and Chantelle, who have been very patient and supportive with me throughout and maintained contact.”

Following a thorough fitness campaign, Caitlin finally returned to riding in mid-March – her first race-day experience since July 2019.

Throughout her ordeal, she has been appreciative for the support of close friend and fellow jockey Emily Finnegan (who has endured her own recent injury challenges), Eran Boyd and others in the racing fraternity, along with her partner, star SA jockey Jason Holder.

She is also thankful of the unwavering support of her family

“My parents and the rest of my family were my backbone and amazing support through that difficult time, helping me in any way they could during the ordeal and after the surgery,” she said.

“And they are huge supporters of my career and dreams.”  

While grateful just to be riding again, Caitlin still has some goals in mind.

“I’ve got 10 months now to outride my claim and I feel confident I can do it,” she said.

“I’ve got 20 metro winners remaining and the support from trainers already I’m very grateful for, because it’s a very competitive stage out there.

“I’m going to be 30 at the end of the year, so it’s been a long apprenticeship, but things pan out the way they do for a reason.

“So I’m just going to grasp it now and make the best of being a senior rider for a few years before I think about what I do next…”

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