What keeps a rider in the saddle after a life-threatening injury?

Most who spend the best part of their professional life mounted atop an animal that weighs roughly half a ton and gallops at 40 mph have a story or two to tell of their adventures.

For Irish jockey Niall McCullagh, it's a tale that almost ended in tragedy.

The 47-year-old suffered "horrific" injuries when he fell from his horse in 2015, puncturing his lung, fracturing every single rib on the left side of his chest and damaging the thoracic vertebrae in his back. career that has included over 600 race victories and began when he was just 15, McCullagh was back in the saddle just nine months later after a grueling recovery process.

"I love what I do, I can't do anything else, and I enjoy it," he said. "So, when the doctor came in and said you've had life-threatening injuries, the first thing you ask is, 'How long will it be till I can get back?'"