Former Victorian harness racing horseman Marty Noonan is back at his home in the USA where he will spend the next 12 weeks in a neck brace following a serious training accident.
The trots man was working a horse at the training centre where he is based when another horse got loose and slammed into Noonan’s jog cart from the side.
Noonan landed hard on the ground and was airlifted to hospital where he was put under sedation for 16 hours before being cleared of brain damage. Noonan’s left ear was severed in the horrific fall, requiring surgery to be reattached, and he broke a vertebra in his neck.
Noonan’s partner, Jenny Melander, posted on social media that Marty returned home on October 14 and thanked everyone for their “prayers and well wishes”.
Melander told Trots Media that despite the seriousness of the injuries, “Marty was extremely lucky. It could have been much worse.”
“As of now he doesn’t need any surgery on his neck. It is supposed to heal with 12 weeks in a neck brace. He has made it home and is moving around quite well now,” she added.
Noonan formerly trained and drove horses in Victoria but is now in the US training with Melander.
Many Victorian trots fans and participants were concerned with the news Noonan was involved in the accident, highlighting his popularity among the industry.
by Cody Winnell