A jockey is being praised online for his extraordinary strength after he managed to avoid serious injury when his horse's saddle snapped in the middle of a race in the United States. According to New York Post, the incident took place on Sunday at the Hawthorne Race Course in Illinois. Abel Lezcano was riding a horse called Christmas Present in the third race when his right stirrup suddenly gave way.
A video going viral on microblogging site X showed Mr Lezcano struggling to keep grasp of the horse as he hung from the right side of the mount. He clung onto the horse's neck, completely out of view from the left side. However, he miraculously pulled himself back atop the horse and finished the race, despite hanging from its side for more than 10 seconds.
Hawthorne's director of racing, Jim Miller, posted the clip on social media, commenting: "You want pure athleticism, this is it right here! Watch as jockey Abel Lezcano has his right stirrup break in the first turn of race 3 @ClubHawthorne and somehow he manages to avert disaster and stay aboard. Pure strength and grit there!"
Watch the video below:
Responding to the Tweet, Mr Lezcano said, "Thank God I'm only sore but glad didn't fall or hurt anybody". "By the grace of the lord I'm here and will continue working hard," he added.
The video has taken the internet by storm. Since being shared, it has accumulated more than 370,000 views and thousands of likes and comments.
"Pure athleticism, pure strength and grit in this case = = holding on for dear life! :) But good to see, could have been bad," wrote one user. "Notice how all the jockeys go wide to help keep him from getting trampled if he didn't hold on. Great group of riders and incredible athleticism," commented another.
A third user said, "Pure athletic ability there. Fantastic horsemanship to avert a really frightening scenario". A fourth added, "It's really tough to stay on like that! What a great effort! Jockeys are some of the most fit athletes !"
Meanwhile, Mr Lezcano fell behind the field in the third race due to the incident. But according to the Post, his efforts were soon rewarded as he won the seventh-race finale aboard another horse called Manoeuvre.
