IT had been more than seven years in the making, but former local, Amy Herrmann, is officially back in the saddle.

The 35-year-old spent more than seven years on the sidelines, before finally returning to racing action at Terang earlier in the month before taking to the track at Penshurst last Saturday.

The former Baimbridge College student was impressing in her career, before an accident at South Australia’s Morphettville track created a forced break.

“It was June 19, 2015, and I had picked up a ride in the trials,” Herrmann said.

“There was another rider who was meant to ride but didn’t turn up.

“I had got on it before and so I wasn’t worried, so thought I’d do it.

“I completed the jumps trial then at the last jump, I came off and hit the ground, breaking my T7 vertabrae and having bleeding on my brain.”

The injuries saw Herrmann spend three months in hospital, with 10 days spent in an induced coma early on.

The former local also underwent back surgery, with the jockey told there was a big chance she would be paralysed, due to the damage to the spinal cord.

Despite the setback, soon after, the then 27-year-old started to plot her return to racing.

“I don’t remember the first bit of when I came out of it, but you can ask dad, it was pretty hard to keep me still.

“I was never going to stop riding, I just wanted to get straight back into it.

“It was nearly six months until I got onto a horse after the accident, I did the tests and passed them to do trackwork after five months.”

It was a patient build for Herrmann, ramping up her preparations in the following three years.

With a heavy and prolonged rehab program initially, once the jockey got into the swing of things through trackwork, it was about taking the next steps towards a return to racing.

“I have been very lucky, all the fitness was done, I did a lot of that when I was in Adelaide before I got back to trackwork,” Herrmann said.

“I did recover a lot quicker, my body has never suffered, it has just been a waiting game.

“I am a very determined person.”

A finger injury also slower her comeback, and finally passed all the necessary tests to get back into the saddle for races in 2018.

“It is a bigger threshold (to race, compared to trackwork), the concussion effect and because I had the head injury, I had to pass neuro test,” the former local said.

“I passed all that in Melbourne in 2018, but I never got the information quicker.

“I could have got back sooner, I tried a few different things, but riding was my passion.”

A single ride at Terang was a big box to tick, and finishing sixth, before climbing aboard Dollar Bucks, Delightful Scoop and Allaboutattitude for local trainer, Trudy Cottier, in Geelong the following day.

Three rides at Penshurst and a return to Geelong on Tuesday has seen Herrmann notch up 10 rides since her return, wasting no time getting back into the swing of things.

“It is pretty much just like riding a bike, I rode a couple of Trudy Cottier’s horses in Geelong,” she said.

“I got a bit nervous on them and they were having a good run at the last corner.

“It had been a long time since I was in that position.

“The body is feeling really good, pulling up pretty well.

“It is a different feeling, compared to trackwork, but I do play a lot of netball as well, which helps me keep fit.”

Herrmann is now based out of Flemington and said she was working on building connections with trainers in hopes of boosting her book of rides going forward.

“I might be going to the King Island carnival, I have been offered some rides there and that is definitely very appealing,” she said.

“I have been very lucky, I have ridden in Victoria a lot, but a lot of trainers don’t know me so well yet.

“Just trying to build connections and show I don’t have problem with my weight, I can still ride 54kg.”

The former Baimbridge College student did her apprenticeship in Mount Gambier under Michael O’Leary and will return to the south-west again tomorrow for another race meet.

“I have already got a ride at Warrnambool on Sunday,” Herrmann said.

“I am not rushing things too quickly, but not turning back rides if they are offered.”