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SARGA.CO – Nikita Beriman, one of Australia’s most successful female jockeys, has shared a harrowing and shocking story about a horrific injury that almost destroyed both her career and her life.
The 39-year-old jockey had been chasing the Brisbane Jockeys Championship title. With nearly 800 wins from more than 8,000 rides, Nikita was a highly respected figure on the racing circuit. But everything changed dramatically after a terrifying accident at Ipswich Racecourse in Queensland.
The incident occurred while Nikita was riding a favorite that was leading with just 100 meters to the finish. Tragically, her horse suffered a severe injury and fell, sending Nikita crashing to the ground and striking the back right side of her head.
“My horse went down. I went down with him. He died. It was heartbreaking. An accident that came completely out of nowhere,” Nikita recalled in a radio interview with RadioTAB.
Shockingly, despite the heavy blow to her head, Nikita passed her concussion test and was cleared to race again just two days later. Incredibly, she even won her next race—though she has no memory of it at all.
Three days after the accident, however, Nikita’s body began to “break down.” She lost her ability to speak and couldn’t bend forward to touch her knees. Doctors diagnosed her with Post-Concussion Syndrome, a serious brain condition that can follow a major concussion.
“I lost all of my speech. Then I couldn’t bend at all. Now I have headaches every single day, and they’re severe. It feels like my brain is on fire,” Nikita said.
Her symptoms have been relentless. She described the sensation in her head as a fire that never stops burning. She now suffers from severe insomnia and memory loss.
“I speak very slowly. It’s hard to find words and explain my thoughts. My brain just doesn’t get to rest—and rest is the key to healing,” she explained.
Nikita is now using her painful experience as a wake-up call for the horse racing industry: jockey safety protocols must change. Currently, Queensland’s standard concussion protocol only recommends a 12-day break, and only if a jockey is formally diagnosed with a concussion.
“The problem is, people think concussion means you have to be knocked out. But the reality is, our brains are violently shaken. I now have a traumatic brain injury, and that can’t be undone,” Nikita said.
“We only get one brain—and it can’t be replaced. We need a much stronger system to protect jockeys,” she added.
(Source: Express.co.uk)
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