Jockey Skye Bogenhuber has made an incredible return to racing four years after life-threatening brain injuries took away her career and nearly her killed her.
In 2022 a second major head injury in the span of just four years scared the veteran jockey who decided her long-term health was more important than winning in the sport she loved for two decades.
Days after celebrating a winning double on July 16 in 2022 tragedy struck.
Thrown from her horse during a jump out Bogenhuber suffered retrograde amnesia and to this day she cannot recall the incident.
Nearly four years after that turning point Bogenhuber was back in action at Clifford Park racecourse – picking up three rides on Saturday, June 6.
“It was amazing really. I didn’t get any luck in the runs it would’ve been nice to get a win but honestly it was good just to be back out there,” Bogenhuber said.
Days after celebrating a winning double on July 16 in 2022 tragedy struck.
Thrown from her horse during a jump out Bogenhuber suffered retrograde amnesia and to this day she cannot recall the incident.
Nearly four years after that turning point Bogenhuber was back in action at Clifford Park racecourse – picking up three rides on Saturday, June 6.
“It was amazing really. I didn’t get any luck in the runs it would’ve been nice to get a win but honestly it was good just to be back out there,” Bogenhuber said.
“Racing has been good to me.
“I’ve had a lot of injuries but it’s all I have ever known since I was 19 and I’ve always loved it.
“I love working with them (horses), the competitive side of racing fits with me because I was always competitive as a kid.
“It was terrific being back out there competing. It’s my happy place.”
Bogenhuber’s phone ‘blew up’ after her return to racing with friends, family and racing industry supporters congratulating her.
‘The Queen of Clifford Park’ as she is known in many racing circles said return to racing was a cause for relief and celebration.
After being cleared medically Bogenhuber needed to meet a number of milestones set out Racing Queensland including a significant number of jump outs and trackwork before returning to competitive racing.
Fortunately Bogenhuber is no stranger to hard and starting from scratch though because she’s done it all before.
Her July 2022 fall happened just a handful of years after the worst fall in her career.
Bogenhuber’s memories of March 5, 2019 – the worst day of a racing career that spans two decades – are not her own.
The first female jockey to win the Clifford Park premiership suffered a serious brain bleed, was heavily concussed and unconscious for a number of days after she was thrown from her horse during a routine jump out.
Everything Bogenhuber knows about that fall comes from eye witness accounts and video she was able to watch.
“I got them to show me the tape when I got out of hospital because I had no idea what happened and initially I was a bit dirty on myself. I thought I had done something wrong,” Bogenhuber said.
“It looks he (the horse) just trod in a hole and I was ricocheted off. I hit my hard and apparently when they got to me my eyes were rolled all the way back in my head.
“I had a brain bleed and they (doctors) didn’t have to put me into an induced coma I was basically asleep for days.
“Apparently I woke up (in hospital) but I can’t tell you a thing about the week or two after I don’t recall anything and I guess I don’t want to remember.
“It was the worst fall of my career and the time I spent in hospital it was really scary and now well I’m blessed to be here fully functioning like I am today.”
Bogenhuber, now 41, never once considered giving away the sport she first discovered as a 19-year-old in Sydney.
Sidelined by her horrific injury for nearly a year she was back in the saddle almost immediately after being cleared my medical specialists.
“The whole time I was recovering I never doubted wanting to go back to racing,” she said.
“I knew the whole time ‘I want this’ if I was scared I knew I wouldn’t go back.
“The only thing that scared me was the fact I couldn’t tell anyone what happened that week to 14 days in my life is a complete blank.”
By Jason Gibbs – The Chronicle | June 12th, 2026
