Paralysed former stable lad, Paul “Barney” Bamford, has completed a 110-mile journey to raise money for Racing Welfare.
Barney set off from Redcar racecourse on 14 May on his specialist handcycle and arrived to a hero’s welcome at Doncaster racecourse on Saturday, 19 May.
The 41-year-old was working for trainer Les Eyre in 2006 when he had a fall while riding out.
He is now paralysed from the chest down but decided to set off on his ride -“Barney’s Challenge” – to raise £100,000 for the charity, which he credits with saving his life.
Racing Welfare funded his airlift to the spinal injuries unit at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield immediately after his accident.
And it has since helped him with specialist housing, wheelchairs, standing frames and retraining courses.
Barney’s journey, in his specially adapted arm-powered tricycle, equates to five marathons in six days.
Richard Negus of Racing Welfare, who followed Barney at five mph in a horsebox for the entire ride, said: “Barney is amazing and over the past few days I’ve really got to know him better.
“Life is a real challenge for him but he smiles it off – I feel a lot better for knowing him.”
And Barney, whose mantra for the past six days has been “no pain, no gain”, added: “I am very grateful to everyone who has donated.”
- So far Barney has raised £68,568.30 of his £100k target. To donate, visit www.JustGiving.com/BarneysChallenge or http://www.racingwelfare.co.uk/
