Elen Nicholas keeps breaking her bones but her spirit remains intact.

The 25-year-old Cambridge apprentice, who became involved in racing after googling “how to become a jockey” when at school in Wales, is regarding her latest setback as just another hurdle to clear.

Nicholas suffered a broken leg, a compound fracture and dislocation in her forearm and was knocked unconscious in a fall in the last race at Te Aroha on 19 September. She also needed stitches for a head wound, possibly caused by a hoof grazing her head, has fluid on a lung and a partially dislocated shoulder.

There have been two operations on her arm and another on her leg and there is now a rod in her left leg and plates and pins in her right arm. She is likely to remain in hospital till at least the end of this week.

It is the third time Nicholas has fractured a leg while working with horses – her latest break is in the same place as a previous tibia (lower leg) fracture - and she also had reconstructive surgery after dislocating a shoulder in an earlier fall.

Injuries have twice sidelined her for around a year and another lengthy convalescence – at a time when she had every reason to believe her career had turned the corner – will test her physical and mental resources.

But after taking seven years to become an overnight success, Nicholas is not about to give up on her long-held ambition to make a mark as a jockey.

She has already been questioning medical staff about the timeframes for a return and puts her chances of continuing her career at “100 per cent.”

There have been some low points in the aftermath of the Te Aroha fall and it has been a particularly worrying time for her family in Wales. Fortunately, Karla Dye, - who Nicholas describes as her “New Zealand mum”- had been reducing the stress by providing regular updates for the family.

Nicholas has also been buoyed by the support from the local racing community. Leading rider Lisa Allpress has been among the hospital visitors and flowers from well-wishers have provided an unexpected boost. “They’re so beautiful and fill the whole window sill.  Random people walk past and stop in the doorway and say how beautiful they smell. When you wake up and see them, they bring a smile to your face.  Simple things like that have been really helpful.”

Visits from her partner, leading jumps jockey Shaun Phelan, have brightened each day and Nicholas is already on the recovery trail.

“I think in three days I’ve learnt to walk to the end of the corridor and that’s big progress.  Little things like this help you to keep building on the positive.

“It’s easy to slide into depression and let the negative thoughts take over your mind, as let’s face it, it’s not a great situation to be in. But you have to try and think of the good things. I look forward to Shaun coming to visit and the flowers are so pretty.

“You’ve got to try and focus on your next step, no matter how small it is.  You focus on that and feeling proud of accomplishing it, and move on to the next step, rather than look back.

“In a funny way, because it’s happened before, you know you can get through it and that may make it easier [this time].”

There are also practical reasons for Nicholas to remain positive, especially while the fluid on her lung is affecting her breathing. “I had a cry about life yesterday and it really hurt to cry.”

There will be no shortage of other physical and mental challenges for Nicholas before she can resume her career, but has been told that she might be able to resume “active sports” is about six months.

Her response was to target reducing that period to three or four months. “It might take longer or less than that but I will know when the body is right. They are just broken bones and they will heal.”

Nicholas, who was brought up in Bangor, in North Wales, has already had to be both patient and determined to make it this far.

Her parents are on the academic staff at Bangor University, but animals and an outdoor life always appealed more to Nicholas than the classroom and the lecture theatre. “I hated being in a classroom. I loved being outside too much.”

She became fascinated by horses as a child and her “far-fetched” ambitions to become a jockey were born when she learnt to ride on a broodmare owned by a neighbour.

Though when that dream came closer to being realised, her parents did optimistically suggest training as a vet as an alternative to becoming a jockey.

Elen became involved in the local pony club and her initial experience of race riding came on the amateur point-to-point (steeplechase) circuit in Wales.  She recorded her first win as an 18-year-old, at the Tivyside and Carmarthenshire Hunt meeting in West Wales, but there have been a few false dawns since then.

Even the point-to-point circuit is highly competitive in Britain and especially so for female riders and Nicholas had to buy her own horses to get rides.

Her first win came in April 2015, on Kisha King, a veteran of the point-to-point circuit, who was only four years younger than his rider.  “He was an extremely safe jumper and I think he gave three other riders their first win,” Nicholas said.

A newspaper report of the victory noted that “petite Elen” had to carry five stone (31kg) in lead, to make Kisha King’s weight.

“It was really hard to get rides,” Nicholas said. “I ended up owning a few horses to give myself race day rides. It was really a hobby and cost so much money.”

Kisha King was trained by Dai Rees who became Nicholas’ employer after the google search on how to become a jockey resulted in Nicholas attending a six-week course at the British Racing School.

Nicholas had two wins and five seconds from 11 point-to-point rides on a horse she owned herself, the second win coming in 2019, shortly before she headed off for another winter in New Zealand. She is unlikely to forget that horse, and not solely because of their success together. The King’s Theatre gelding was named Hospital and might have been a portent of what lay ahead.

Nicholas came to New Zealand for the first time in 2018, when a friend pointed out at a Facebook post from Hawke’s Bay trainer Paul Nelson, who was looking for a rider who could work in New Zealand for three months over the winter. The friend forwarded the post to Nicholas with the message that “this looks cool.”

It was the first of two stints Nicholas spent with Nelson and opened her eyes to the opportunities for women riders in New Zealand. “I couldn’t believe how big the girls’ changing rooms were.”

Nicholas had her first raceday ride in New Zealand on the Nelson jumper Zardetto at Trentham, in July 2018. She finished third, behind Shamal and Perry Mason, after making much of the pace on the testing figure-eight steeplechase course at Trentham and rode in the amateur flat race on the same day. “I was thrown in at the deep end, but I learnt so much from Paul.”

Nicholas, who initially rode in New Zealand as an amateur, had her first success here in a hurdle race the following year.

She also spent time riding work in Australia, while sorting out another NZ visa, and considered beginning an apprenticeship as a flat rider there but decided that the best opportunities lay on the other side of the Tasman.

She was offered an apprenticeship by Cambridge trainer Andrew Campbell and took up the commitment, after selling her remaining horses in Wales.

She recorded her first flat win in February last year and made a useful start as an apprentice but her shoulder injury, followed by a broken leg, kept her away from race riding for almost a year.

By the time Nicholas returned to full fitness, Campbell was winding down his stable and Nicholas transferred her apprenticeship to fellow Cambridge trainer Craig Phelan. One of the attractions in joining the Phelan stable was the chance to work with her partner, as Shaun is Craig’s son and training partner.

Nicholas resumed riding in June this year and quickly emerged as a rising star. She had a remarkable tally of 13 wins in July and there were another 11 wins in the first seven weeks of the new season, despite a couple of suspensions.

She was still in third place on the premiership this week, and winning the apprentice title had looked to be a realistic goal for the season.

The Te Aroha fall dashed those hopes, but Nicholas has already learnt that good things take time, and she is prepared to do her time again.