Manitoba jockey Alyssa Selman seriously injured in Assiniboia Downs race

A Manitoba jockey has suffered a serious spinal cord injury after the horse she was racing tumbled during a race at Assiniboia Downs Saturday evening.

"Essentially the horse in front of it was reaching back with its hind legs, the horse Alyssa was on was striding out with its front legs and their hooves touched," said Darren Dunn, Assiniboia Downs CEO.

Jockey Alyssa Selman was thrown to the ground,leaving her seriously injured.

Her family, including her two children, husband, mom and sister were all in the stands when the accident happened.

"Our ambulatory care kicked in and stabilized the situation and got her off to the hospital as soon as possible," said Dunn.

Selman underwent surgery Sunday night for a fractured vertebrae and badly damaged spinal cord.

"She was crying after she came out of surgery after she was conscious of what was going on and she was telling me she would never walk again. I said, 'Don't say that,'" said her husband, who is also a jockey.

He said doctors are unsure if she will be able to walk againbut because her spinal cord wasn't severed, there is a chance.

"It's kind of hard watching her as a person just being so active and bouncing off the walls and full of life just lying there motionless," he said.

The pair met at the track almost 10 years ago and married in 2011. They live together with their two kids near Carman, Man.

Remi said his wife has grown up around horses and has been a jockey for years.

"She loves horses, she loves animals. She's the most kind-hearted person I've ever met in my life. When it comes to deal with any being, she's the nicest person," he said.

Most serious incident in 35 years

Dunn said an injury this significant is rare for Assiniboia Downs.

"I've worked here for 35 years. I've certainly seen jockeys dismounted from their horses. More common injuries are bumps or bruises or maybe a broken collar bone but a significant injury like this, I can't ever remember at Assiniboia Downs," he said.

He said jockeys from across Canada and the United States have reached out to help. A fundraiser will be planned for the family, he added.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with her," he said. "We're going to follow it up from there and certainly there'll be some support here locally -- our entire community is behind her right now and we're just waiting for updates like everyone else."

Dunn said the fall was a freak accident and is unpreventable.

"There's nothing you can do to prevent something like that. Certainly it's unfortunate, but it is part of the sport that can happen on occasion when these athletes cross paths with each other," he said. "It does happen in our sport, not unlike high-speed, high-impact sports whether its hockey, whether it's football horse racing is not immune to what can happen in this regard."