KEY POINTS:
Top jockey Michael Walker was in intensive care last night after falling more than 10 metres into a gorge while pig hunting.
Walker had to spend the night in the bush as one of two friends made the long trek out to raise the alarm.
The 24-year-old was
winched from a steep gorge at Okau, Taranaki, yesterday morning.
He had slipped down a steep slope, before falling a further eight metres into a narrow gorge and suffered serious head injuries.
Taranaki Rescue Helicopter pilot David Manduell said Walker was saved from worse injuries by the dead pig he was carrying, which cushioned his fall into the gorge.
Walker was flown to Auckland last night after initially being treated at Taranaki Base Hospital.
"By all accounts there's no broken bones and all his internal organs are operating properly," Walker's manager, Aidan Rodley, said today.
"So now the main concern is that the head comes right and he's getting the best possible care up in Auckland."
A hospital spokeswoman said this morning Walker remained in a critical condition in intensive care.
Mr Rodley said the 24-year-old was carrying a pig on his shoulders during the hunting trip northeast of New Plymouth when he fell over a bluff and into a creek on Monday.
It is understood Walker slipped as the trio were on their way back from hunting.
After first trying to carry him out of the bush, one of Walker's hunting companions walked for help while the other stayed with him.
The man reached a house at about 8.15am yesterday, after nightfall forced him to bunk down in the bush overnight. Mr Manduell said it took him and a medic more than three hours to find Walker in heavy bush between Ohura and Ahititi.
The man who walked for help had become cold and disoriented during the walk and could not locate Walker when they returned. The helicopter found the third man, who had stayed with the injured jockey.
The 24-year-old became New Zealand's top jockey aged 16, winning two jockey premierships before his 18th birthday. After a patch of poor form he battled his way back from drug addiction and serious hip and back injuries to dominate the 2007 racing season, breaking Lance O'Sullivan's record for the fastest 100 wins in a season in December.
The accident means Walker will almost certainly not achieve his dream of being the first New Zealand jockey to ride 200 winning horses in a single season. He's ridden 173 winners this season - more than any other jockey.
Mr Rodley said it was a shame Walker's dream was in doubt "but our main concern is that Michael gets better".
Allan Sharrock, a Taranaki trainer and Walker's first mentor, said the young jockey had "definitely" been on track to reach 200 winners.
"Now that's at risk."
Walker made headlines in 2005 when he publicly admitted using cocaine and drinking to excess while living and competing in Melbourne.
After a serious car accident, he returned to New Zealand to get his life and career back on track.
Mr Rodley said the family were waiting for the results of scans and X-rays to find out the extent of Walker's head injuries.
"His partner Candace and son Case are with him," he said.
"He's a little guy but he has a big heart. The determination that made him such a good jockey will stand by him through this."
Hunting companion Brian Crow, thought to be the man who walked for help for Walker, said the jockey's family did not want to talk to the media and he would respect that.
* COMEBACK KID
1999, becomes apprentice to Taranaki trainer Allan Sharrock.
2000, wins the New Zealand jockey premiership aged 16.
2001, wins a second NZ jockey premiership.
2004, moves to Australia.
2005, returns to New Zealand after a car accident. Admits using cocaine while racing in the Melbourne Cup, saying childhood physical abuse had fuelled a life of addiction.
2006, considers retirement because of serious back and hip pain from a fall five years earlier at Ellerslie.
2007, breaks the New Zealand record for the fastest 100 wins in a racing season.
