On January 2, at Omakau in southern New Zealand, veteran Standardbred horseman Ricky May was on the lead during the Central Otago Cup. He then experienced a cardiac episode while in the sulky, crumpled in the race bike, and subsequently fell to the track. May's heart stopped for eight minutes. He was lucky that a fellow driver knew CPR and helped save his life. Now, less than six months later, May is back in action.

This past Friday night (June 12), May made his official return to the race bike, as he competed at Addington. The first race on the program was understandably branded as the 'Welcome Back Ricky May Trot,' according to a story by stuff.co.nz.

Although May would go on to finish eleventh in his comeback race, the result was rather inconsequential, seeing as though he most likely should have succumbed to the disturbing episode early in the year. The Standardbred Canada website kept tabs on May's progress after the unsettling ordeal. May has praised fellow driver Ellie Barron for performing CPR and keeping him alive until medical officials could tend to and stabilize him.

While speaking to the media in New Zealand over the course of his recovery, May has stated that "When Ellie arrived I'd definitely conked it" and that his heart had stopped for eight minutes.

Ricky May

May had previously told stuff.co.nz that he underwent surgery after the incident to have a cardioverter defibrillator inserted in his chest. The cardioverter defibrillator will provide a shock to May’s heart if he experiences a similar episode in the future. It has been determined that May suffers from hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, which, according to stuff.co.nz, is a condition where the heart muscles thicken even though the heart itself is healthy.

May has explained that he received clearance to drive horses just a handful of days before his Addington return. He also admitted that he didn't follow his doctor's orders, even though he was rebounding from an extremely serious cardiac event.

While speaking with Trackside TV, May admitted that, "I've done everything I probably shouldn't have, to be fair."

May went on to add that his specialist "told me, when it first happened, that I'm not allowed to weld, I'm not allowed to chainsaw, I'm not allowed to drive on the road, but I said, 'I've broken all them rules.'

"I said to him, 'There's nothing wrong with me.'"

Please join Standardbred Canada in wishing Ricky May the best of luck in his recovery.

(With files from stuff.co.nz)