Essex MP Chris Lewis 'still smiling' as he recovers from broken bones from horse fall

Chris Lewis is in good spirits after suffering serious injuries from falling from a horse just hours before getting re-elected as the Conservative MP for Essex in southwestern Ontario.

"I guess the worst injury is my pride," he joked.

On Monday afternoon, Lewis, 45, took a break while awaiting results of the federal election, and went for a horseback ride with his wife, in a field on his property in Kingsville. The horse, named Gunner, got spooked by something — Lewis isn't sure what — and the animal bucked and threw him.

He has broken ribs, a broken wrist and foot, and a torn rotator cuff.

"But I'm on the mend, you know, I'm really, really fortunate. Didn't bang my head overly hard as far as brain injuries," said Lewis, who was wearing a cowboy hat at the time.

"Could have been a lot worse, but I'm still smiling. I'm on the right side of the daisies."

Despite his injuries, Lewis didn't go to the hospital until the next morning, following an appearance at a small gathering for campaign volunteers.

He cancelled a media availability on election night and issued a statement the following day explaining what had happened.

"I was in an awful lot of pain that night. I was really in no shape to be doing any kind of acceptance speeches at that time," he said.

Lewis was seeking a second term and cruised to victory with a 6,472-vote lead over his closest competitor, the riding's former NDP MP Tracey Ramsey.

Lewis said he's excited to get back to work and his injuries won't interfere with his job. He highlighted unity as a priority for the riding.

"We are so, so, so powerful and strong — we as a community — when we work together. But when we're divisive it just makes things so much tougher, so I really, really hope that we can start to turn this corner."