Four months after a riding accident his doctor says was the equivalent of a “60-80kph” car crash, Shane Rose is adamant he can win the Olympic gold that has eluded him during his equestrian career.

Rose already has two silver medals and one bronze from Games appearances in Beijing 2008, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

And in February at an event in New Zealand, he secured the full qualifications he needed to be considered for the Australia’s Paris team.

But on March 11, disaster struck.

Rose was seriously injured during a fall at a training camp.

He has no memory of the accident but has been shown a video his family filmed when he was taken to the hospital.

“I saw some footage — my wife must have filmed me — where I was like ‘What happened, who was I riding, how did it happen, what’s the date, how long have I got’?” Rose told 7.30.

He had suffered multiple left-side rib fractures, right elbow fractures, a fracture of the femur (requiring a rod) and fractures of the front and back of the pelvis and sacrum.

Rose and his medical team believe the 625kg horse landed on him in the fall.

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Orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Richard Walker became part of that team due to his 20 years of experience treating traumatic injuries, particularly those affecting the pelvis.

“He had injuries that I would see in a motor vehicle accident,” Dr Walker said.

‘Thought it was impossible’

With Rose pushing to ride at the Palace of Versailles — at the Olympics in July — Dr Walker decided not to operate in a bid to accelerate the recovery process.

“Most people that I’ve managed with horseriding injuries are not back on a horse for six months,” Dr Walker said.

For the first four weeks after the accident Rose was restricted to a wheelchair. He was then allowed on an exercise bike and to swim, by week six he was at the Australian Institute of Sport for intensive rehabilitation and training.

By week eight, Dr Walker allowed him back on a horse.

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“It’s pretty amazing in terms of the injuries, to get to where he’s at in three months,” Dr Walker said.

“It just shows the determination that he’s got. A lot of it, I think comes down to your mind and your psychological management of pain.

“Other people I’ve managed with injuries like this, they’re not close to being on a horse at three months.”

On June’s King’s Birthday long weekend, Rose competed at his first competition after the accident at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event in Werribee.

He competed in the dressage and show jumping disciplines to plenty of cheers from a supportive crowd, but did not ride in the cross country, leaving his body a little more time to recover.

Wife says Shane was lucky

His wife, Niki, has been by his side for the recovery. A talented horsewoman herself, she has been integral to helping Shane’s champion horse Virgil prepare for the Games.

“He was lucky it was all injuries that could heal,” she said.

“I remember walking to and from the hospital every day he was there and we walked past the brain injury clinic, I thought I was just so glad we’re not in there, like bones heal, your body will heal, it will take a while but in perspective,  it could have been a lot worse.”

She said she is not surprised by his recovery.

“He’s very determined [and] has a very high pain threshold,” she said.

“I’m not surprised that he’s out there surprising the doctors, giving it 110 per cent and just working really hard to get back to fitness.

“Hopefully it will all be worthwhile when we get there.”

More than a mankini-clad ‘larrikin’

Weeks before the accident, Rose grabbed headlines at an event in the Southern Highlands, where he took part in a fancy dress ride and a member of the crowd made an anonymous complaint about him wearing a mankini while riding.

Rose was stood down and apologised. He was quickly cleared of any wrongdoing by Equestrian Australia.

Former Australian Olympic equestrian team manager and Equestrian Australia high performance manager Gareth McKeen says Rose has always been a “bit of a larrikin”.

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He first met Rose at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Rose had been selected for the Games but his horse picked up an injury and he was withdrawn from the squad.

“Shane was one of those people who I would characterise as being just a good bloke to be around,” Mr McKeen said.

“He was always very friendly and upbeat, always very helpful, but also very respectful.”

Since then Mr McKeen has followed Rose’s career with interest and has always been impressed that Rose “always put his horses first”.

“I’ve watched a lot of different sports over many years and I would have to say in my opinion, that Shane is second to none in Australian sport in terms of his courage, determination, humility, and his good humour.

“I think if Shane was a footballer in any of the codes, or a cricketer, he would be a household name in Australian sport.

Mr McKeen also is not surprised by Rose’s impressive recovery.

Rose’s bid for Paris success will be confirmed on denied when the equestrian team is announced on July 4.

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