Warrnambool Racing Club track supervisor Paul Richards called on years of experience with the local SES branch to save the life of Kendall Dickinson.
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On Friday, July 19, about 6.45am Dickinson was riding a young horse in trackwork on the sand at Warrnambool when it stumbled, forcing the 24-year-old forward onto the track.
The Tom Dabernig-trained galloper rolled forward onto Dickinson causing multiple serious injuries.
Richards, who had spent seven years volunteering with the SES, has been the trackwork supervisor at the racing club for more than four years. He was at the scene within minutes of the fall.
"When I got to Kendall she was twitching on the ground with her eyes closed under the rail," Richards told The Standard.
She was unresponsive so Richards performed CPR.
"Her face was a white grey and her lips were a purple-blue," he said.
"I just kept on working on Kendall trying to get a response and after what seemed an eternity she gave a slight gasp. I rolled her on to her left side and put her in the recovery position."
The 54-year-old father of two was relieved when Kendall came to: "I was only centimetres away from her face and she said in a very soft, frail voice 'I'm not going to die am I?'.
"I assured her I was with her and she would be right. She was saying 'tell my mum I love her. Tell mum I love her'."
Fellow track riders Melissa Julius and Bonny Kingsley arrived and also offered Kendall comfort and reassurance.
Richards said the enormity of the situation hit him an hour after the ordeal.
"I started thinking what would have happened if I was not there to help her," he said. "I was just so glad she was alive again and the professionals were there to take care of her."
Trainer Dabernig phoned Richards on Thursday morning asking him to come to his Warrnambool stables.
On arrival, Richards was greeted by Shaw Dickinson, a brother of Kendall, who had flown in from the United Kingdom to be by his sister's bedside before making a trip to Warrnambool to personally thank Richards from his family.
"I must admit Shaw and I both got emotional," Richards said.
"We embraced and chatted about Kendall and her health battles. Shaw thanked me on behalf of his family. It was wonderful to catch up with him and I'm hoping to head to Melbourne to see Kendall within the next week or so."
