Jim was in and out of consciousness and his horse was put down from horrific injuries
Jim and his two nephews set off on October 7, 2024 in the morning with the aim to help out a friend in locating a colt that had jumped out of its paddock the day before. It was missing and Jim felt his tracking skills could be of use. He is re-known for working with horses, breaking them in or putting mileage on them on behalf of riders in his community.
The stretch of road he and his 16-year old nephews were riding was regular riding for Jim because he is rarely in a car. The horse is his mode of transport. Riding 6km from his home in Ngamoe to Kahuitara was a short trip.
They were nearly at their destination when Jim’s mare Sass started to get anxious, reacting to the vehicles passing them as they entered a narrow stretch of road. Jim was preparing to stop the horses when the three riders heard a truck approaching.
The engine of the truck and trailer unit started to slow down when it saw them and continued past the three horses. There was no grass verge. The drivers cab past Jim who was in the middle of the three, and the trailer unit struck his mare. Jim was thrown, hitting his head on the corner of a plastic water tank on the load. He landed on the road. His mare lay in the middle of the road.
Leanne, Jim’s wife, got a phone call from her nephew to say Jim had been hit. She was there in minutes and remained on site with him as the response unfolded.
“Jim was moved to the side of the road. He was in and out of consciousness.
First on the scene was one Police officer from Gisborne, our local Police were on holiday. Police allowed vehicles through the scene as the horse lay dying. The firefighters arrived. We know them all as they are either related or Jim went to school with him. There were six of them and they did what they could to comfort Jim. I appealed to the Police officer to have the horse put down as it was horrific watching her in pain and vehicles pass by. A cordon was put in place and we watched as the officer stood about 10m away and shot at her. One, two, three, four, five, six times. Eventually a firefighter stepped in, got his knife and cut her throat to end the suffering. It was terrible. And I watched Jim as he took in every shot fired. The mare was dragged by a vehicle to a nearby paddock.
We later determined our mare had sustained a broken back and two broken legs from being hit."
"By this time Jim had been lying on the side of the road for a long time. He too was moved to the paddock. The Ambulance finally arrived hours after the accident and we were told a Rescue Helicopter was on its way. I raced home to get some clothes for Jim and myself, and when I returned the helicopter was on site. It was late afternoon by now. They said I couldn’t fly with Jim so I made the 2.5 hr by car with my aunty to Gisborne Hospital. It was a hard journey.
In hospital, the doctor decided to stitch an open hole on the side of his face instead of taking him to the theatre. He was then taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he remained for two nights. I was relieved because he was finally getting the care he needed. I was told he had two bleeds on the brain.
When Jim came out of ICU he spent 12 days in the Ward. He suffered hot and cold sweats and dizziness. I asked for another brain scan and they did. The bleeds hadn’t opened up. We were told before we were discharged that he was at the highest end of a concussion.
The trip home was awful. What normally takes 2.5hrs, took me 10-11 hours as Jim couldn’t handle the travel. He was sick, had throbbing headaches and I stopped often and waited until he dozed off and then would continue the journey. I was worried about taking him home as we live off grid, and are still recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle. Things are hard.?"
Life after the unthinkable - January 2025
Jim has limited recall of what happened that day. Just little bits. His memory in general is terrible now. He’s mobile, but can’t do very much as he gets tired quickly. He suffers migraines. We were recently flown by ACC to Napier where Jim underwent two hours of testing. He failed all four, and was shattered afterwards. The specialist explained everything to us and told Jim it was important for him to share how he was feeling and what was improving or not.
The Concussion Clinic team are looking at how they can help him as right now he can’t walk a straight line, look up, look right or left.
Not long after we got home, I called the local Police Station and made an appointment to see the file on the accident. There had been no discussion with us about anything since that day, no accountability, no apology from the driver – nothing. I wanted to read the driver's statement and asked for it. I read it and am not happy with it.
We know the company and I have wanted to call them to give them a piece of my mind. But I haven't. Police say it was an accident and nobody’s fault.
We lost a valuable horse that day. She had wonderful bloodlines. There’s no compensation for us.
We will continue to take things day by day. Take things slow. We’ve joined some horse groups and it’s been good for Jim to be around like-minded people. Even if he can’t ride, he can just be around people who appreciate the horse.
Our nephews are doing ok. I was shocked that they didn’t receive any help or support to be honest. I mean what they witnessed that day was traumatic and they’re only young. They come and see Jim in the school holidays when they’re home from school.
We’ve started our own tack repair business together. It was something we were planning to do before the accident. I weave and Jim introduced me to working with leather so now I make bridles. http://www.ngamoeroping.com/
This story was written with the help of Julia McLean and approved by Leanne and Jim.
