When I was 17 Sugar came to live with us. I’d been riding
her for a while for a novice family who had ended up with a bad tempered pony
their daughter couldn’t ride. Sugar was a 13.2hh appaloosa, boy did she play
the chestnut mare stereotype well. We’d been getting on fine, schooling, jumping
– Hayley had tried some games with her, she’d clearly done it before. I was
hoping that the work we had put in would mean she could go on to be a good pony
for an experienced child and not end up in the wrong hands.
May 2007 my world changed. Sugar flipped because I pushed
her beyond what she could take, she reared and knocked me out, I fell and my
foot got wedged in the stirrup causing her to trample me. I spent the next 24
hours not knowing the date, time or who I was. It was frightening. After a
number of scans I finally remember the consultant telling me I was a princess;
I was demanding, but I was going to be ok. Lucky for me, I don’t remember the time
of the accident. Our bodies have a way of protecting us from the worst. The
final damage was wrecked tendons, ligaments and broken bones in my knee, leg
and foot. It was to be a long recovery, I needed an operation and I was about
to take my A Levels. I’ve told you before about my drive to succeed no matter
what – I may have got that from my mum. She told the consultant to postpone the
operation if it wouldn’t cause any further damage, cast my leg for the next
week and give me enough medicine for me to sit my exams. This is exactly what
happened. Following, I had an operation to reconstruct my knee and I started
the 12 months of physio to recovery. Although the real recovery was 9 months
later, a holiday away with my friends I finally stopped using by crutches as support
and started to get back on with my life.
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| Back in the saddle |
I wasn’t to ride again, my leg was weak and my confidence
broken. The doctor said I shouldn’t ride again. Sugar was sold to a family
friend. This elderly man became her best friend, he broke her to a trap and she
will live out her days with him. I would recover, go off to uni and for a while
not have horses on my mind. But any girl who has grown up with horses knows we
can’t get by without. It’s an addiction. At 21, Hayley and I were both back
from uni and I went to visit her, Drifter and Spice. I wanted to to ride and it
was a turning point for me. I felt at home in the saddle on Drifter, he knew I
needed him to take care of me and over the next few weeks I would start to do
more and even have a small jump. If it wasn’t for Hayley and Drifter I wouldn’t
be back in the saddle. Thank you.
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| 2014 Drifter and I |
I still sometimes get nervous when I ride, mostly jumping and cross country. This is because I
know most danger is here, but it gets better and I have Russia who no matter
what makes me feel safe. We’re learning together, day by day we jump higher and
ride faster. There is nothing this horse won’t do for me. So next time you feel
like the hurdle is too big, or your nerves kick in because ultimately you could
get hurt…it’s okay. Build your confidence slowly and never let someone push you
further than you can handle, each time you do something it will become easier.
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| Nothing stopping us. |
Most of all, please use safety gear. Safety stirrups would
have let me walk away with a few bruises. We’re not indestructible and we’re
riding animals who have their own minds – even our best horses have a bad day.
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