‘What dreams are made of’: amateur rider who broke her back twice returns to succeed in Hickstead’s International Arena
The rider was placed at the Royal International Horse Show a year after her second major injury
A rider who recovered from breaking her back twice to be placed in the International Arena at Hickstead has shown what grit and determination can achieve – in a moment that was “what dreams are made of”.
Ellie Mae Guildford-Smith and Irish Invention came sixth in the Culford Lodge Commodities small hunter championship at the Royal International Horse Show on Saturday (25 July) – almost exactly a year after Ellie broke her back for a second time.
“We were ecstatic,” Ellie’s mother Julie told H&H. “Just the fact she’s riding again, as we thought she would probably be in a wheelchair. It’s wonderful, for us as a family.”
Julie said Ellie, who is now 22, has been riding since childhood, and had come eighth at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). But after a bad fall in 2023 she was told she might not ride again.
“She was lucky even to walk after that, the horse kicked out at her head as she came off as well, and it was a very traumatic fall,” she said.
“Ellie was determined she was going to ride again but I was very worried. Then she was kicked by a cow at work – she does dairy farming – and that broke her back again.”
Julie said the second injury had an even greater impact on Ellie’s mental health as she was unable either to work or do what she loved best.
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“But through incredible grit, determination and resilience – and despite all my worries – she got back on board this March,” she said, thanking producers Team Moore for all their support. “She was so persistent in wanting to get back to what she loved.”
From strength to strength
Once Ellie was back in the saddle, with a back brace, she met Irish Invention (Jack).
“We wanted a horse who was safe as I wanted to minimise her being in harm’s way,” Julie said. “He’s a lovely boy, and she’s just grown from strength to strength. And last week was what dreams are made of.
“She went into the open small hunters and we were very much just going in it as we’d qualified. She was against all these top producers and to our amazement, she got put forward in the top nine to ride in the International Area, the only amateur in there.
“She’d never ridden in there before – I get goosebumps just thinking about it – and we would have been happy with ninth. My 83-year-old dad was there, the first time he’d been to the Royal International, and they read out ninth, then eighth so to come sixth – we all just cried.”
Ellie and Jack are now eyeing HOYS qualification, and Julie said she hopes they story might help others.
“I’m thinking of telling somebody else that there is hope, don’t give up,” she said. “To get on again, ride in a ring again, and then go and do what she did at the Royal International – I’m a very proud mum.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.