#LOVETHEHORSE
After a riding accident, Claire Skerman wondered if she’d get back in the saddle but she’s aiming high with her off the track thoroughbred, O’Tauto. Claire Skerman had just returned to work after more than a year of rehabilitation when she first met the then three-year- old gelding, O’Tauto. Claire was working as a strapper for Greg Eurell’s stables in Cranbourne and was given the job of accompanying O’Tauto to his first day at the races. “It was at the Cranbourne track and he won and that was the beginning of it all. I’d just returned to work after a serious accident and I was putting my faith in a horse to help me through that challenge – and O’Tauto is definitely that horse,” recalled Skerman. Today, four years after they first met, Skerman is the very pleased and proud owner of O’Tauto, who retired early last year. The Off The Track horse has been a pivotal part of her recovery from injuries that left her wondering if she’d be able to ride again. In August 2017, Skerman fell from her sister’s horse and broke her back. Major spinal surgery and rehabilitation followed. She spent three months in a wheelchair and had to learn to walk – and ride – again. “My younger sister had an Off The Tracker and she had a fall from him and broke her ankle so I offered to keep her horse in work for her. Within about three rides he’d thrown me off, too. As a rider you have falls all the time, but I knew this one was different because, for the first time, I fell and I couldn’t get up. But I had no idea it would be 12 months before I’d ride again,” said Skerman. She was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and when she realised the extent of her injuries, Skerman had one question on her mind. Would she be able to ride again? BUILDING A BEAUTIFUL PARTNERSHIP BY SARAH MARINOS
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