Multiple eventing youth medallist and apprentice jockey Saffie Osborne has praised the “incredible” Oaksey House team, on her return to the saddle four months after a nasty fall.

Saffie, who has won five medals across pony and junior Europeans, is eyeing both the champion apprentice title and young rider eventing team selection this year.

The 18-year-old broke ribs and her left arm, and punctured a lung, in a fall at Windsor on 19 October. Her mount, Zeyzoun, clipped heels with another horse, whose jockey was subsequently given a 10-day ban.

Saffie told H&H this week (8 February) she “can’t describe” the brilliant feeling of being back in the saddle after a “long road” to recovery.

“I feel absolutely normal in myself and I’m fitter and stronger than ever thanks to Oaksey House and the amazing team there,” said Saffie.

“I started back on my event horse [Lakantus] first for a couple of days, and now I’m back on the racehorses and it’s full steam ahead to getting back on the track for March.”

The advanced event rider, who has been back in the saddle for exactly a week, paid further tribute to the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) team.

“I’m so lucky that I live two minutes away from Oaksey House. It is an incredible facility, but it is the people there who make it,” she said, adding that they are “so encouraging”.

“I had my fall on the Monday, left hospital on the Thursday and was there on the following Monday. Since then, I’ve been in there five days a week for the last four months for two to three hours each and every day.

“It helps physically, of course, as you are getting better and fitter, but it also really helps with the mental health side as well. As a jockey — and also having an event horse — I’m used to being so busy every day, then suddenly you come to this abrupt halt and feel like you are not achieving anything.

“That’s where the team at Oaksey House were amazing; they were so encouraging and the whole mindset was gearing you up to get back on — you achieve something every day and you’re getting up in the morning with a purpose.”

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Saffie recently signed with jockey agent Nial Hannity and has her sights firmly set on the champion apprentice title, with the aim of returning to race-riding in March “hopefully a couple of weeks ahead of the turf season”.

While Saffie stressed racing now comes first, as that is where she sees her career going, she will also target a step up to four-star eventing with Lord and Lady Blythe’s Lakantus this season alongside young rider team selection.

The 11-year-old Hannoverian gelding won team silver with Saffie at the 2019 junior Europeans and the pair moved up to advanced together last summer.

“We did our first CCI3*-L at Thoresby in October, where we jumped double clear, and he was meant to have a couple of months off, then I had my fall, so we sort of went on our break together,” said Saffie.

“He is my main motivation to keep eventing as he is so special.”

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A point-to-point jockey who was told he would never walk again after being kicked in the neck is defying the odds to walk a lap of Newbury racecourse’s parade ring.

Ed Barrett was riding in a point-to-point at Upcott in Devon on 12 April 2015 when his horse fell.

Ed was kicked in the neck, breaking and dislocating his vertebrae, and a bone fragment went into his spinal cord, causing paralysis.

Following an operation to rebuild his neck, Ed spent three weeks in intensive care at Plymouth Hospital, before being transferred to Oswestry Spinal Hospital to start his rehabilitation.

After 10 weeks of complete bed rest and intensive specialist physiotherapy, he started to regain some movement. After six months, he left hospital, able to walk with a Zimmer frame.

He spent four months living at Oaksey House, one of the Injured Jockeys Fund’s rehabilitation and fitness centres, where he received physio and strength and conditioning training.

Ed can now walk short stretches with crutches and a little without.

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“While at Oaksey House, I came up with the idea to walk a lap of a racecourse paddock both to give myself a goal and to promote the work of the Injured Jockeys Fund and all the help they have given me,” he said.

“I also hope one day there will be a cure for spinal cord injuries so have chosen to raise money equally for The Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation.

“Having a spinal injury changes your life and there is a lot to overcome. However, it’s not all doom and gloom — I have managed to walk short distances without crutches, ride a pony, swim in a pool, drive a car, drive a tractor, swing a golf club and scuba dive.”

On Saturday (22 September), Ed will walk a lap of the parade ring without crutches ahead of the first race, which he expects will take him around 20 to 25 minutes.

To sponsor Ed, visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/EdwardBarrett2

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Having gone for 28 years without breaking a bone in my body, my time came on a freezing February morning this year while riding out racehorses.

I had previously wondered whether you know straight away when you break a bone and I can now confirm YES you absolutely do know — the pain was excruciating (thank god for morphine).

I can also confirm (having now tested it out) that falling from a horse onto sheer ice is not to be recommended and can result in a broken femur (thigh bone) in two places.

After being pinned back together and sporting a pair of crutches, the rehabilitation began and now, over two months later, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

And the main reason for this surge of positivity, is because I have been one of the many fortunate riders, jockeys and sportspeople to benefit from the incredible rehabilitation centre that is the Injured Jockeys Fund’s Oaksey House in Lambourn.

This place is like no other that I’ve come across; you have access to brilliant facilities — now boosted thanks to the addition of a hydrotherapy pool — and a top-class team of physiotherapists and conditioning coaches.

The racing industry and the wider equestrian community are so lucky to have Oaksey House available to them. So much so, even other sports, such as rugby, are sending their athletes for rehabilitation at Oaksey House.

Because I hold a point-to-point jockey license, I had free access to all the treatments/gym sessions and just had to pay a small fee for the accommodation — staying in one of their lovely self-catered flats.

I enjoyed four days of intense rehabilitation at Oaksey House, which included three sessions a day varying from physiotherapy to hydrotherapy and gym sessions. I say “enjoyed” because it was so amazing to get back doing exercise, regain focus and kick start my goal to get back walking without crutches or a limp.

Most of my sessions were in the gym and the hydrotherapy pool with strength and conditioning coach Gavin Egan. I’d say he had his work cut out with me, and he certainly worked me hard. However, if you’d told me on day one that, by the end of the week, I’d be standing on just my broken leg throwing and catching a ball, I would have laughed — he worked miracles.

In the gym

Having effectively been inactive for two months, Gavin firstly explained that my muscles basically needed reactivating — especially my core muscles and my “glutes”. He also wanted to get me off the crutches and get me back walking without a limp.

The loss of strength in my knee was also an issue and contributed to my limp. Gavin introduced a resistance band (placed just above my knees) to stop my knees falling inwards during the lower body strength exercises, such as squats and bridges.

To get my glutes back in action, Gavin had me doing lots of lower body exercises and leg lifting in the gym (pictured, below) which involved contracting (squeezing as hard as I could!) my glutes.

Some of the exercises caused, not pain, but a weird feeling in my leg — a bit like an elastic band being pulled. Gavin explained this was the iliotibial band (IT band) being stretched. The IT band runs from the knee to the hip joint and provides attachment for the glutes and “thigh muscle” for hip abduction, also providing stability to the knee. He added that this was probably cut through during surgery (eurghhh).

I also did a lot of work on the TRX suspension trainer and by the end of the week I was doing step ups on only my broken leg, having started off as wobbly as jelly.

After each gym session, I was hooked up to the Game Ready ice machine, which was pretty cool. It wraps around the leg, while the control unit it’s connected to continuously circulates cold water through the wrap and pneumatically applies compression.

The hydrotherapy pool

This recent addition to Oaksey House is remarkable — a specially heated pool (pictured, below) with not only a treadmill in it, but jets and underwater cameras, so you can analyse the range of movement and for me, in particular, my gait in walking on the screens in front of you.

Going in the hydrotherapy pool meant I could achieve a variety of exercises that I would struggle with out of the water, because the water makes it non-weight bearing and reduces the pressure on my joints and broken leg.

Gavin had me walking both forward, backwards and sideways while also throwing a ball at me (lucky I did a bit of netball at school…) and with weights around my ankles. It took some multitasking to think about two things at once — catching the ball while trying not to come off the end of the moving treadmill.

Among other exercises, I did some squatting, jumping, static swimming against the jet streams and some balance exercises. It was a great feeling to have that range of movement back again and I can’t recommend hydrotherapy highly enough.

Before the hydrotherapy pool was built at Oaksey House, the Alter G anti-gravity treadmill (pictured, below) was the go-to machine for non-weight bearing rehabilitation, it is an awesome piece of kit and still used a lot there.

It’s impressive technology works by reducing the bodyweight. Once zipped in, it fills with air below the waist, effectively lifting you slightly off your feet, and allows you to do exercise with decreased bodyweight. For me, it was so nice to walk without a limp and I was able to focus on my stride pattern.

Physiotherapy

During my stay, I also had physiotherapy from both Emma Edwards and Heidi Preece, which usually started with a soft tissue massage because the muscles in my leg were so tight and there was tightness in my hip and knee joints too.

We also ran through strengthening exercises that involved using a resistance band.

I was also introduced to “electrotherapy” which is when electric energy is used to mimic the nerve impulses that cause muscles to contract — the electrodes taking the place of the nerves that normally cause the muscles to move. The electrode “pads” were put on my leg which was the weirdest sensation, especially when your leg is moving without you doing anything.

The muscles are exercising independently, in turn increasing strength in my leg and improving the healing process, helping the muscles recover faster.

I am due back at Oaksey House at the end of May for further rehabilitation and Gavin has promised he’ll have me running out of the door…

On a final note, I cannot give enough credit to the whole team at Oaksey House, the work they do is brilliant and I found staying there an eye-opening experience — I met people with much worse injuries than mine and it certainly put everything in perspective.

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A leading amateur jockey has made her return to racing after breaking her back in a fall last year.

Tabitha Worsley broke her T11 and T12 vertebrae in a fall in a hurdle race at Ludlow on 16 November.

She was back in action at the Cottesmore fixture at Garthorpe on 25 February, just over three months since her injury.

“I wanted to get this first ride back under my belt,” Tabitha told H&H. “It felt very good to be back out there.”

Tabitha was injured when The Lion Man clipped the final hurdle in a handicap race at the Herefordshire course, resulting in a nasty fall. The horse was not injured.

“When I hit the ground I was quite winded, I rolled up and over on to my hands and knees to get my breath back, then rolled back on to the ground,” said Tabitha.

“Obviously you hope it is just a bit of bruising.”

Tabitha was taken to Hereford District Hospital, where she stayed overnight before being transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for surgery.

Surgeons used six pins and three metal rods to stabilise the fractured vertebrae and Tabitha was allowed home on 20 November.

It was originally thought that the 23-year-old would be out for the rest of the season, but her injuries healed well. Following extensive rehabilitation at the Injured Jockeys Fund’s Oaksey House, it started to look likely that she could be fit to return to the saddle by the end of February.

She visited Oaksey House several times early on in her recovery, later spending two full weeks there.

Tabitha added having the end of February target to work towards helped her focus.

“They worked me hard,” she said. “We did a lot of stuff in the gym, working the right parts of my back and my shoulder [which I also injured in the fall] to get everything back to strength.”

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Tabitha had to be signed on by her surgeon and pass a physio test at Oaksey House before the British Horseracing Authority’s chief medical officer Dr Jerry Hill approved her fit to race again.

She started riding again a week before her comeback race at Garthorpe and thanked her mum and friend Raheela Khan for keeping her horses going at home.

“The whole racing community is amazing,” she added.

“The support from everyone in racing has been unbelievable.”

Tabitha rode her mother Georgina Howell’s Pierlow in the ladies’ open at Garthorpe. They kept up with the field, but pulled up on the second circuit.

Tabitha explained the gelding needed quicker ground and the intention had been to run the horse at Higham, but the fixture was abandoned.

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A rotational fall at the start of the 2015 season left eventer Sophie McCormack in an induced coma for a week. She tells Agnes Stamp how the Injured Jockeys Fund's Oaksey House has helped her on the road to recovery

On 24 May 2015, Sophie McCormack, an Oxfordshire-based event rider had a crashing fall at Rockingham Horse Trials whilst competing in the novice class. The rotational fall left Sophie in a critical condition and her horse, As You Like It IV (pictured, above), was put down due to injuries sustained.

Sophie has ridden her entire life, and evented from a young age. After leaving school she took up a working pupil position at Harry Meade’s yard, a role she only intended to do for the duration of her gap year, but ended up staying two.

In 2011, Harry sourced her Pete (As You Like It IV) a New Zealand thoroughbred “with a heart of gold” who had previously competed up to three-star in the southern hemisphere with his owner and former rider Anne-Marie Styles.

“Pete was my dream horse. Before him I’d only evented up to novice, but he took me up to intermediate. He was the perfect schoolmaster — I learnt so much from him,” says Sophie.

Rockingham Horse Trials was their first run of the 2015 season. Sophie remembers he “was full of beans in the dressage, and had a great showjumping round. In the cross-country warm up, he was jumping out of his skin and I thought — laughing to myself — ‘we are going to have such a fun round today’”.

‘Missiled’ out of the saddle

Out of the start box, Pete misjudged the first fence, the Ascending Frame — “a tiny flowerbed” — and jumped into it instead of over it. As his chest hit the fence, Sophie was “missiled” out of the saddle and thrown to the side. Pete’s back end hit her head as he was catapulted over the fence.

The rotational fall broke the eighteen-year old gelding’s neck, and he was humanely destroyed on site.

Sophie was knocked unconscious and stopped breathing for two and a half minutes. It took the medical team two hours to stabilise her enough to safely airlift her (while conscious) to Coventry Walsgrave Hospital.

“I don’t remember being at the event,” says Sophie. “My last memory is getting to the yard that morning. I have snapshots but I’m not sure if they’re real or not — nothing concrete. I certainly don’t remember being on a horse that day.”

In hospital Sophie was treated for diffuse axzonal brain injury (bruising and micro bleeds on the brain) and put into an induced coma for a week. Due to the pressure inside her skull she was fitted with an ICP bolt (intracranial pressure monitor). It took the doctors four attempts to bring her round again.

From Coventry she was moved to the Central England Rehabilitation Unit (CERU) in Leamington for seven weeks. Sophie has no memory of the first month at this neuro-rehabilitation unit and her immediate family have said during this time, “she was chatting, responding to questions and being polite, but her sharpness and personality wasn’t there — what made her Sophie was missing”.

She was discharged on 15 July 2015 when she had learnt to walk and talk again.

Although her NHS physio and cognitive therapy had come to an end, Sophie would continue to have NHS counselling over the winter months as she was suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

She has no memory of how she lost her beloved Pete and consequently has no closure on the accident.

“Counselling helped hugely — it gave me news ways of coping (previously Sophie had used riding as a therapeutic activity) and helped redefine my expectations,” she says.

‘I felt like I was in a washing machine’

A keen follower of racing, it was Sophie’s mother who suggested she go for a one-off appointment at Oaksey House.

Sophie attended a one-hour appointment with Emma Edwards, Oaksey’s neuro physiotherapist and concussion specialist. It was during this session she realised she wasn’t ok.

“Emma asked me to stand up and close my eyes. It felt like I was in a washing machine — I fell over as my brain couldn’t deal with that visual aid being taken away,” remembers Sophie.

Initially she could only cope with an one-hour session at Oaksey House as she was struggling with fatigue. However over the last eight months she has increased the sessions, building up to a three-day stay, two five-day stays and finally two fortnightly stays at the facility.

During these visits Sophie receives expert neuro-rehabilitation, as well as sports massage on her neck and conditioning sessions in which she works on her strength and fitness.

As Sophie is not a licensed jockey, her treatment at Oaksey House has been entirely self-funded.

Last week she went on a short bike ride — something she had previously been unable to do following the accident due to her lack of balance. She is also training for the Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon (4-5 June) to raise funds for the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Central England Rehab Unit at Leamington Spa Hospital.

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Sophie puts her progress down to the “invaluable” care she has received at Oaksey House: “My balance, strength, confidence, body composition and mental health have all improved by staying at Oaksey. Recovering from a head injury is very, very different to recovering from other injuries, and it requires a high level of expertise. I am completely unrecognisable to the person who was discharged from hospital in July.”

Sophie is planning on going back to university in September and recently she got back on a horse and discovered she has “no particular balance qualms”, despite still being in the acute stages of her injury. However, she feels she will not be ready to compete again until next season as her “brain is still healing and it needs time to recover”.

The Injured Jockeys Fund is Horse & Hound‘s charity for 2016. Donate now >>

To support Sophie McCormack as she embarks on her triathlon please visit www.gofundme.com

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Plans to build a state-of-the-art rehabilitation and fitness centre for riders in Newmarket are being discussed by H&H’s charity of the year, the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF).

It follows the success of Oaksey House in Lambourn, opened in 2009, and Jack Berry House in Malton, Yorkshire, which opened its doors in 2015. Both centres have played pivotal roles in rehabilitation and maintaining day-to-day fitness for jockeys, stable staff and other equestrians.

“We are at the very early stages of exploring what might be achievable. We would love to be able to offer jockeys in Newmarket a similar level of support to that of Oaksey House and Jack Berry House. We also hope to be able to work really closely with the other charities already based in Newmarket,” said Lisa Hancock, CEO of the IJF.

The charity, which has spent around £18million helping over 1,000 jockeys since it was founded in 1964, is working closely with the Newmarket-based British Racing School.

The proposal to bring a new rehabilitation centre and gym facilities for jockeys to the town — recognised as the headquarters of British horse racing — is in its initial planning stages.

“We are delighted to be working with the IJF. Both Oaksey House and Jack Berry House provide invaluable support and it would be wonderful to offer the same range of facilities here,” said the British Racing School’s CEO Grant Harris.

“For our part we are in desperate need of a new gym for our trainees and other [racing industry] courses, so this seems a perfect fit.

“There is much work to do and no fixed dates yet, but we can use the IJF’s knowledge from the previous two builds to move quite fast.”

The Injured Jockeys Fund is Horse & Hound’s charity of the year for 2016. To donate click here.

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The Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) celebrated its 50^th anniversary last year, and I’m thrilled that the charity has formed an association with Horse & Hound — a brand even more established than our own.

The late Lord Oaksey was the racing reporter — known as Audax — for the magazine for nearly 30 years and he would have been particularly proud to hear the news that the charity he founded is to be supported in 2016 as H&H‘s charity of the year.

When the IJF was set up in 1964 — to help injured jockeys Paddy Farrell and Tim Brookshaw — never in a million years would they have expected it to have grown to such a size.

The founders had a whip round to raise some money for those two, and half a century later the IJF has helped more than 1,000 jockeys.

The IJF now has two fantastic rehabilitation centres, Oaksey House in Lambourn as well as Jack Berry House in Malton, which opened this year.

Both provide excellent care for jockeys, and now also other riders, including Kitty King and Laura Collett, both of whom H&H speak to in 31 December’s magazine.

For anyone who wants to recover quickly the centres are an excellent facility — we have anti-gravity treadmill and hydrotherapy pools.

Noel Fehily says in the current issue that the IJF has helped racing advance, and I believe it’s now even ahead of other professional sports.

There are so many different things available to young jockeys now that weren’t around in my day – fitness coaches, nutritionists and training.

It’s fantastic that the charity is so well-known now too. There have been remarkable cases recently, such as lsabell Tompsett who was back on a horse this year after a fall in 2011 that left her in a coma, and Brian Toomey, who in 2015 regained his jockey’s licence after being given only a 3% survival.

Chris Kinane was kicked in the head at Wolverhampton more than 10 years ago and the IJF has been helping him ever since. I went to visit him recently and his progress was a joy to see, he is now able to speak and interact, something he wasn’t able to do two years ago.

It’s not just about rehabilitating physical injuries though — the charity is also here to help jockeys get back on track in life.

One ex-jockey had come off the rails and an almoner went to visit. She filled up his car with petrol, bought him new tyres and filled up his fridge. He’s since found a job and paid it all back, but that’s what it’s about, making life easier for people and helping whatever the issue.

As president I’m just the front man — the heroes are the almoners, John and Jackie Porter who run Oaksey House, Lord Oaksey, Jack Berry all those people that put in so much hard work every day.

Happy new year to all, I urge you to support the IJF’s initiatives and follow it through H&H in 2016 — I couldn’t recommend the charity more.

John Francome

Injured Jockeys Fund president

For a behind the scenes look at Oaksey House, plus interviews with Kitty King, Aaron Miller, Noel Fehily and Laura Collett — who have all been helped by the IJF — don’t miss this week’s issue, out today (Thursday, 31 December)

Horse & Hound is proud to announce the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) as our charity of the year 2016.

The charity does fantastic work helping injured jockeys – and more recently riders – and their families with recovery and rehabilitation.

Throughout 2016 H&H will be keeping you updated with the IJF’s activities and supporting the charity.

We’d love you to show your support and donate too. To get you started, here are some things you might not have known about the IJF.

• More than 1,000 jockeys have been helped by the IJF. The charity was set up in 1964 after the falls of two jockeys, Paddy Farrell and Tim Brookshaw, and it has grown massively since then.
• Many charities now raise money through Christmas cards, but the IJF has raised £4m from card sales alone since 1964.
• The IJF has two state-of-the-art rehabilitation facilities. In 2009 Oaksey House opened in Lambourn, Berks, and earlier this year the Jack Berry House, which cost £3.1m to build, was unveiled in Malton, Yorks. Both centres have live-in accommodation for recovering jockeys, plus gyms fitted out with modern equipment. Oaksey House has an anti-gravity machine, while the Jack Berry House has a hydrotherapy pool.
• More than £18m in aid has been paid out to injured jockeys since the charity was founded.
• One of the charity’s founders, the late Lord Oaksey, was H&H’s racing correspondent, known as ‘Audax’ in the magazine, for nearly 30 years. He also bred the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Coneygree and 2011 Hennessy winner Carruthers.
• As well as rehabilitation care, the IJF provides help and support to jockeys via nutritionists, training advice and via a team of nine almoners who are based around the country to support beneficiaries in daily life.
• More recently the charity’s work has also extended to riders in other disciplines. Treatment at either of the two rehab centres is free for jockeys, and riders on the World Class programme can receive funding via the British Equestrian Federation. Other equestrians can pay for themselves or use insurance to benefit from the facilities.

Eventer Laura Collett spent time at Oaksey House recovering after her serious fall at Tweseldown in 2013.

“The work the IJF does is absolutely amazing,” Laura told H&H. “Without them I definitely wouldn’t have been back competing as soon as I was.”

Don’t miss the 31 December issue of H&H for more on the IJF, including a guest comment from IJF president John Francome, an interview with Kitty King, who has benefited from the facilities, and an exclusive behind the scenes look at Oaksey House.

H&H has made a donation to the IJF for every advert that carries the charity’s logo in this issue.

• For more information and to donate visit: www.injuredjockeys.co.uk

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Horse&Hound is proud to name the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) as our charity of the year for 2016.

The charity does important work for riders and their families who have been affected by injuries in their sport.

In the past 51 years more than 1,000 jockeys have been helped by the IJF.

With two rehabilitation centres and direct support across the country, jockeys hurt in their line of work have access to free rehab and training, as well as support and advice.

More recently the charity’s work has also extended to riders in other disciplines, most notably eventers.

How the IJF began

Two serious falls led to the creation of the IJF. On 21 March 1964 jockey Paddy Farrell suffered a devastating fall at Aintree and Tim Brookshaw suffered a career-ending fall at the same track several months earlier.

Following these incidents — both of which resulted in paralysis — Clifford Nicholson, Edward Courage, Fred Winter, Peter Vaux and John Lawrence (later Lord Oaksey) set up the charity to help injured jockeys.

Lord Oaksey — who was H&H’s racing correspondent Audax for nearly 30 years — continued as president of the IJF until his death in 2012.

The facilities

In 2014, the charity celebrated its 50th anniversary and the IJF now boasts two state-of-the-art facilities.

Oaksey House opened in Lambourn, Berks, in 2009 while Jack Berry House was unveiled earlier this year in Malton, Yorks.

There is a respite area in both centres, with en-suite accommodation.

The IJF also has a team of almoners to support injured jockeys around the UK.

“We have a network of people to respond to jockeys longer-term needs,” said the IJF’s Lisa Hancock. “Some are permanently injured and we’re here to make it as easy as possible for them and their families.”

Help for all

As well as countless jockeys, event riders Kitty King, Laura Collett, Aaron Millar and H&H blogger Susanna Hext are among those who have been helped by the IJF.

In 2013 Kitty broke her wrist in a couple of places being knocked over in the field and went to Oaksey House for rehab.

Aaron Millar has been benefiting from the facilities at Oaksey House following a serious car crash in April. He suffered severe internal injuries including a haematoma on his bowel.

Treatment at either of the two rehab centres is free for jockeys, and riders on the World Class programme can receive funding via the British Equestrian Federation. Other equestrians can pay for themselves or use insurance to benefit from the facilities.

“Riders can make contact with the team, who will assess how best to offer treatment,” Lisa Hancock told H&H.

“The centres are there first and foremost to offer support to injured jockeys, but we are very keen to share with other disciplines. Rehab is tailored to individual needs, but our team knows what riders need to return to the saddle.

“We look forward to working with H&H throughout the year, raising the awareness of the IJF’s two state-of-the-art rehabilitation centres, Oaksey House and Jack Berry House, whose physio and gym facilities are now available to the wider equestrian community.”

H&H has made a donation to the IJF for every advert in the magazine that carries the charity’s logo. Please join us by donating via our dedicated JustGiving page.

For interviews with riders Aaron Miller, Kitty King, Laura Collett and Noel Fehily, plus a behind the scenes look at Oaksey House, don’t miss this week’s issue of H&H magazine, out today (Thursday 31 December).

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

It’s not very often that I am totally stuck on where to start my blog. I just have so much to spill, and everything has been so exciting.

I can barely keep up with my life at the moment, and to think that it wasn’t long ago that I was twiddling my fingers and bored out of my mind.

It is probably due to this period of time where I couldn’t do anything that I have now taken it to the extreme and get ‘ants in my pants’ if I sit down!

The latest evening activity involves physio balls and Georgie (my housemate) and I becoming competitive about who can kneel on the ball for the longest. It has resulted in Georgie saying, and I quote, “I don’t even have spasms and my legs are going into spasm!”

It’s become reality

All I want to do is pinch myself to check I’m not dreaming and make sure my life has actually taken off in a crazy whirlwind — I am having trouble letting it sink in after such an endless battle.

Over the weekend I set off for my first Grade 2 para competition at Hartpury College. I was very excited as this is what I have been working towards since the first time I sat in my saddle in a physio session with Gemma months ago. Therefore, I was a little bit apprehensive.

I’m still trying to get used to the fact that you, a.) hardly have any tack to take for dressage and b.) you don’t need to factor in walking a cross-country course or getting your number. It’s all so quiet and chilled, I almost feel like I need some form of carnage unfolding or loud speakers going off — I’m still learning!

Amo was an absolute saint to get on and she stood like a rock as my legs spasmed into place.

My first test was unfortunately a little bit tense and Amo thought the judges were quite scary. I scored 61.44% and came 2nd.

My second test was much more relaxed on both our parts! We ended up winning and scored 63.4%. I was so chuffed with how she performed. Riding in the main Hartpury indoor arena was the most incredible feeling.

When I went to get off Amo after all the excitement, adrenaline and fatigue of both tests, my legs both went into spasm and I ended up being lifted to the lorry steps — lucky I’m not too heavy!

My already incredible day was rounded off perfectly when I helped put Amo to bed and I managed to spend some one to one time with her after a very special day. She didn’t mind me hopping around her to put her rug on, something I bizarrely saw as another achievement ticked off.

Can I confess to being a total emotional wreak on the way home? (All good emotions). I think I am just completely overwhelmed, so happy, and maybe slightly overtired. It means so much to me and I loved every minute!

I can’t thank the Team at Talland (especially Pammy and Emma) enough for making me the luckiest girl in the world and believing in me the whole way through.

Training

In my recent lessons at Talland with Pammy, I have seen an influx of eventers coming out the woodwork, getting ready for the season ahead. More recently I have seen Padraig McCarthy and Nicky Roncoroni, both looking in great form in their lessons with Pammy.

It’s been great to feel like I can ride alongside them again, although I am very jealous that they are about to head into the eventing season, something I will always miss.

In my lessons with Pammy we have been keeping a track of my spasms, timing and how long it takes for me to get going again after a major episode. In my notebook we are also logging areas that I need to improve on.

I have been perfecting my tests recently, and in the run up to the BD competition at Summerhouse (pictured above) I had a lesson with Abi Hutton (wife of Pammy’s son Charlie) who frequently rides Amo and knows her inside out. Abi used to compete her a lot, so she gave me lots of tips on how to ride her and helped me run through my tests.

Rehab — a range of exercises

My spasms are particularly bad at the moment, I think it’s a combination of the cold weather and doing a lot more on a daily basis.

At Oaksey, we have continued with the climbing and trampoline exercises as I mentioned last time. Cat has also been getting me to work on some more core exercises and log rolling myself across the room and keeping control of the spasms.

At Cadbury House Gym, Sam has been helping me work on any exercises I’m given at Oaksey and then he also adds in more core and upper body exercises. He had me kneeling on a BOSU Balance trainer ball on one leg which was quite hard work.

All the exercises that I do are also great for riding as I need to be strong — especially as I ride without stirrups the whole time!

Pogo Pandemonium

The pogo evening was such a fantastic night (pictured). It was held at Newbury Racecourse and was run and organised by the amazing Claire Lomas to raise funds for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation (NSIF), to continue to find a cure for paralysis, which is getting ever closer.

I helped with the raffle early on in the evening. Everyone was extremely generous and you could see that they were right behind Claire. They managed to raise over £7,000 that evening for NSIF.

In the end the winner of the pogo competition was National Hunt jockey and Channel 4 Racing presenter Sam Thomas. I am very surprised there were no injuries along the way as everyone seemed to be getting very competitive.

We then decided it would be a good idea to take on the only night club in Newbury. This was very entertaining, and ended up with me being carried to the taxi, as every time I laughed my legs went into spasm and I either stopped or fell over. There does seem to be a common with these nights (Barbury, Tiggy’s 30th and Newbury) the common theme being Jade Lazenby!

I’m an Auntie

Sophie did a very good job of being on time for me to see her little man. Very conveniently she gave birth to Jack the night I drove home for a hospital appointment the next day.

Not only that, but my appointment was opposite the maternity building. Well done, Soph! He is so gorgeous and just perfect, I am looking forward to seeing him next weekend when I go home — I’m sure he will have changed a great deal!

My hospital appointment went well. It was an orthotics appointment to have a new splint made up to help my foot placement. My physio from Cornwall, Gemma (from Peninsula Community Health) came to the appointment with me to discuss with them what kind of splint would be best. This is plan A, there are a few more options left, so fingers crossed!

Out and About

A couple of weekends ago I spent a long weekend in Dorset with my great friend Annabel Yarrow and a few other friends.

It was a jam-packed weekend: following the Portman Hunt, two dinner parties and most importantly Annabel helping me to become more domesticated — I prepped a lot of vegetables for the dinner parties and also for Annabel’s catering business on the Sunday.

I even mastered standing on a gate (those climbing sessions at Oaksey came in handy!) so I could see the hunt a bit more clearly. However, it’s got to be said that my dismount was slightly less graceful — more of a plummet to the ground!

To Follow

I have seemingly already ticked off two of my ‘what will 2015 bring phases’ including becoming an Auntie and getting out competing.

Not very long ago I doubted whether my life would ever change, how wrong I was…

‘You’ve only got three choices in life: give up, give in or give it all you’ve got.’

Suz

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I don’t think I could have ever dreamt in my wildest dreams that a year on since having my Spinal Cord Stimulator implanted at the John Radcliffe and going through a gruelling opiate detox programme (not many people can say they’ve had to do that!) that I would be upright and out of my wheelchair, on crutches, driving, riding, leaving home (again) and going back to work.

Wherever I go I generally create some form of carnage or entertainment on an outing, it is normally stemming from my spasms or more recently the B&W Equine work’s Christmas party attempting to dance on my crutches (attempting being the operative word!).

My timing was, it’s got to be said, not great! And I definitely felt like I had been through a workout in the morning. No need for physio…

What has really helped me through the last two and a half years, eight operations, endless months in hospital and boredom, has to be the truly amazing people I am so lucky to have in my life. Family, friends, physios, doctors, nurses, and the incredible people I have met along the way.

They have kept me as sane as I’ll ever be and kept me smiling throughout, even when some of the entertaining moments are actually quite painful. I can think of numerous occasions when we all laugh when my leg is karate kicking, or even when I was lying in the hospital bed at the very beginning and the vicious cycle of laughing made the pain worse — I couldn’t decide whether the fact that my friends were laughing at me (Jackie and Sophie) made them good friends or bad friends!

Just like everyone else, they never treated me any differently to the person I always have been. This is just how I wanted it to be.

Competition time

Did someone mention the C word? Competition time!

The key to me being driven mentally was the goals I always had in my head, right from the start. Obviously included in the list was getting back on a horse.

Gemma, (Neuro physio for Peninsular community health) played a massive part in helping me achieve this, as my physio started to include bringing my saddle into my sessions and creating ingenious exercises involving being sat on the saddle.

Also, on the list was competing. Getting back on board was a complete dream come true, but as soon as I had mastered that I knew that competing would be possible.

The plan is to enter some able bodied tests on Amo (pictured above) in January, in preparation for the para competitions that start in February. I can’t even imagine how excited I am going to be for my first competition again after such a long time. I will be worse than a little kid!

I can’t thank Pammy enough for her support and for letting me compete Amo.

My training has been going really well, and I feel I am making progress all the time. I have however found that the recent cold weather has affected my nerve pain and spasms, so I am trying to stay as warm enough. Any clever clothing suggestions that would help?

I think I should either go into hibernation, or move to Australia for the winter months!

Rehab continues

I have found that recently parts of my progress have plateaued out slightly, this is somewhat frustrating, however I can’t expect my progress to keep going up and up continually.

I also think the fact that I am struggling with the cold weather probably doesn’t help to move everything forward.

Overall my body strength is continuing to improve with the combination of going to Oaksey House, working in the gym with Sam Iles (Cadbury House Gym), swimming and riding.

Sam has been working on some more core based exercises with me (which should definitely help my riding), and we have also been building up the amount of time I am on the treadmill for in total. Sam has now got the hang of my crazy left leg and certainly isn’t as concerned when it starts stamping the treadmill!

I have also started going into the gym on my own recently, when I put my crutches down to get on the bike I always end up with them clattering to the ground, making a horrendous racket, which either sparks a conversation with the person cycling next to me or makes them want to leave pretty swiftly!

In my last couple of sessions at Oaksey with Nadia we have been working on trying to get my left foot flat to the floor. The spasm curve my foot over to the outside, it took Nadia having a rugby match with it and me getting quite angry before I think we won! This will progress over time and practice. Poor Nadia!

Home Sweet Home

Even my parents couldn’t beat the greeting that Tapi, my little terrier (pictured top), gave me as I came through the door! She couldn’t believe her eyes and wouldn’t let me out of her sight, every time I went out of the door without her she was worried that I wouldn’t be coming back again. It was six weeks since I had left home to start back at the vets.

I had a fantastic time catching up with various people over my two weekends at home, and I even had an emotional (in a good way) hospital appointment with my Orthoptist at Treliske.

I have got ongoing problems with my vision since my accident, from having a big bang to the head.

It is by no means as bad as it was, but the double vision (diplopia) is still a problem, so I have check-ups every few months.

My Orthoptist was involved with me very near the beginning of my recovery, as such we were looking back at how far I have come and how very weak, poorly and unhappy I was when she saw me back then!

When I was at Treliske, I also managed to catch up with Sue and Tracy (hydro team), we had so much to catch up on. Sue took a video of me walking with my crutches and sent it to Becky, who was my original hydro-therapist before she left.

Needless to say I think Becky was pretty chuffed!

I had very special catch up with Suzy Hamilton (original physio) before I drove back up to Bristol. I hadn’t seen Suzy since I had been to Oaksey House, as you can imagine there was a huge improvement to be seen and also a lot of catching up to do!

I had a great time catching up with my parents and my brother, Jamie, (pictured below) and his fiancé, Sophie. I am very much looking forward to being an Aunty in the near future.

Christmas spirit

I’m really looking forward to my first Christmas for a couple of years actually feeling well and out of hospital — touch wood!

I love Christmas time as everyone gets involved, and yes, I am a big kid! I will probably be even more excited this year as I will have a competition looming on the horizon. That’s Christmas wrapped up for me!

I can’t believe how far I have come in a year.

It just shows ‘If you have a dream, follow it, as what’s meant to be will always find a way’…

Happy Christmas everyone!

Suz

Timeline of Suz’s incredible progression:

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A new equestrian simulator, designed to help jockeys refine their technique and improve their fitness, has been launched in conjunction with the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF).

Racewood, a leading manufacturer of equestrian simulators for rider training and fitness, unveiled its new Racetrainer at a launch at the IJF’s Lambourn rehabilitation centre, Oaksey House, earlier this month.

Designed in collaboration with leading coaches at the IJF, the training equipment is said to promote the healthy, safe and effective training of professional and amateur jockeys by targeting key muscles, improving core strength and encouraging weight loss and cardiovascular fitness.

The mechanical motion of the Racetrainer, where the neck and body of the “horse” moves, is said to mirror the flow and movement of a real horse during a race.

Derby-winning former jockey and IJF coach John Reid said: “It is as close to the real thing as you can get.”

The Racetrainer also has a heart rate monitor and tablet to record and track progress, while users can assess their recovery period and track their anaerobic and aerobic fitness.

Strength and conditioning coach Michael Peacock is using the new piece of equipment for therapeutic purposes.

He said: “It is playing a key role in rehabilitating and improving the fitness in those riders looking to return to racing following injury.”

Jump jockey Harry Challoner is also a fan.

“Being able to link the simulator with the tablet really helps you get an idea of how your fitness is progressing,” he said.

Its inventors say the Racetrainer also has another important function: the interactive software means that research can be carried out to collect specific data on a rider’s fitness and performance, allowing for key studies into jockey training and fitness to be carried out.

This work has already been started by specialist sports science departments at universities, and by the IJF.

Ref: H&H 27 November 2014

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I’m finally completely settled in up in Congresbury in Gloucestershire — which is where I’ve moved to so that I can work at B&W equine vets.

I am even beginning to be recognised in places such as Tesco and the fuel station just down the road. Of course it is not for any other reason other than they see me on a regular basis either losing the basket off the end of my crutch (I haven’t actually dropped anything yet) or balancing and trying to fuel up my car on the way back from work!

Breaking my body back into a social life has come as a bit of a shock to the system. For my friends there is the obvious disadvantage of taking me anywhere, as I definitely slow them down which isn’t great in the rain!

I would say the advantages could outweigh the disadvantages though, as they get to park close to wherever we are trying to get to thanks to disabled parking — this was particularly helpful at the Your Horse Live event recently. We also managed to take a short cut through a massive queue and get great seats — they definitely weren’t complaining then.

Any trips out with me produce endless stories, which I don’t think will ever be forgotten in a hurry. The latest escapade involved an escalator. Needless to say this is something I will never ever be attempting again and probably shouldn’t have been attempted in the first place!

Georgie Thomas (my housemate) and I went for a shopping trip. I decided that I could go down the escalator (partly because to get to the lift I had to walk miles). Let’s just say it wasn’t the smoothest ride, and I certainly caused a queue at the top as I was dithering as to whether I could do it or not. I felt as if I was going to do the splits with my crutches in front of me and legs behind — not a good idea. I would have loved to have seen the facial expressions of the people behind me! Georgie just held on to me for dear life.

Unbelievable feeling

After my last blog I started riding a beautiful mare called Amo (pictured top). I feel as if we have a great connection already (I’ve only ridden her three times) and she has a massive character, which is what I think I love about her. She’s right up my street.

The first time I got on Amo in my lesson with Pammy (Hutton), I think my smile grew out and out across my face as I started working her! Pammy recognised this straight away — she knows me too well.

I had a fantastic lesson with Gerry (who also teaches at Talland) last week as Pammy was away. We really worked on my position and seat. Unfortunately, as I have been suffering with a cold/cough my spasms were worse than ever. Every time I cough my leg goes into spasm, which is not a particularly helpful. This was also the case when I visited Oaksey House the day before — my spasms up my left side were horrible.

I have managed to tick another box off my list of aims and achievements — I rode on my own for the first time since my accident.

I went up to Talland and rode Amo. She was a star and I had a great time getting a feel for her and learning what makes her tick. I did, however, have my great friend Lucy Dickenson there. She has got helping me get on down to a fine art and I can’t thank her enough for her endless help and support.

I also may have been a little bit naughty and sat on an ex-event horse one boring weekend! Henry used to compete at three-star level and is Jade Lazenby’s. He was so well behaved, and it was such a fantastic feeling to ride outside.

Jade also had me filling hay nets (it’s certainly that first time I’ve come back with hay in my boots for a long time!), and is now trying to come up with a genius plan that will allow me to lift a wheelbarrow and muck out — keep thinking Jade!

Blowing away the cobwebs

I certainly feel as if I am getting to grips with the pharmacy at the vets and the cobwebs are being blown away after a long time off work. I still have lots to learn and every day that I come in I seem to be picking up on new pieces of information.

Cassie Wood (pictured right) has been great at explaining how to perform certain jobs in pharmacy which has allowed my knowledge base to grow.

At the end of each day I now feel as though I have accomplished various tasks with my brain, which is helping me sleep a lot better as my brain feels like it needs a rest. This is the first time in over two years I am actually sleeping better than ever.

I would be lying if I said there weren’t some moments in the day when I feel frustrated, as I would love to be able to trot a horse up, lunge and help the vets for example. However, what I love about the vets is that it is a co-ordinated team effort and without the different departments, the system wouldn’t work quite so effectively.

Rehab update

The combination of going to Oaksey House every Monday or Tuesday, going to the gym at Cadbury House and swimming for the rest of the week seems to be working really well. I feel as though I am strengthening up and finding that some exercises are becoming easier, which has got to be a good sign.

The last couple of weeks I have been working with Nadia (neuro physio) at Oaksey House. She has been working on my core stability with various exercises using mat work. I find that these exercises can bring on some pretty strong spasms — it’s about trying to breathe and work through them which is something I find particularly difficult to do.

We have been working on exercises such as the plank (pictured left) and press-ups, both of which I didn’t believe I could possibly do to start with, but I was wrong. Nadia holds my foot and I surprise myself! It was a great feeling achieving this, and knowing there is no reason I can’t do anything, you just simply have to adapt.

We’ve also been working on getting more weight through the left foot, and trying to not allow it to turn over and spasm, as I bring myself up onto it. We did this using some bars which are along the wall in the gym. Gradually I had to work my hands up the bars higher and higher to try and stand whilst Nadia was trying to pin my left leg down at the same time.

This exercise definitely needs more work, but was a great start. I did, however, look like a banana (or a quaver as Nadia calls it) bent to the right most of time.

I made a catastrophic error and told Sam Iles at Cadbury House gym that I could do the plank and press-ups now. He caught onto this straight away and he has been timing me and making things harder. I’ll learn to keep my mouth shut in future! It’s been great and I feel as if I am improving my overall fitness, which in turn is helping my riding.

Sam has been helping me work on my upper-body strength, core stability, bike work and I’ve also been on the treadmill (pictured above). As I used to at Oaksey, Sam has been helping initiate the correct foot placement on the treadmill, and I think has only been scared by my crazy leg a couple of times when it’s started stamping the ground on its side! This help is invaluable and will ultimately help me progress.

Home time

I’m off home this weekend for the first time since I moved up here six weeks ago — how time flies. I feel ready for a bit of Cornish sea air and a visit to my incredible family and friends, but most importantly my little dog Tapi, who hasn’t moved up with me yet!

Suze

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A new chapter has begun that I have been dreaming of for what seems like forever. I have a smile permanently plastered across my face and I have to keep pinching myself. Work is in full swing, my riding is going extremely well, and so is my rehabilitation, plus I have a social life!

I swear I probably even go to sleep with a little grin on my face. Everything seems slightly surreal and I never want this feeling to end after a tough couple of years.

I’ve been getting some uneasy looks from people watching me tackle new obstacles, especially in Tesco’s, where the balancing of the basket on the end of one crutch has become finely tuned (I think). This might be slightly debatable though as the amount of times I’ve been asked if I need a hand, you would think I was looking as if I was about to drop everything on the floor.

The Tesco’s team have got the filling of the two bags down to a fine art so that I can balance one on the end of each crutch to get out to the car.

It’s a shame that the same can’t be said for me mastering the stairs on crutches after Tiggy’s (head girl to Lucy Wiegersma) 30th Birthday – let’s just say it was lucky that Jade and Lizzie (stood to catch me) were there.

Next time, when faced with such circumstances, I’m going to take to going up the stairs on my bottom!

On the Friday before I left to move back up to work we had a celebratory family meal at the Tresanton, a nearby hotel and restaurant. I think Mum and Dad were breathing a sigh of relief, as they have now got the house back to themselves again and a bit of peace and quiet.

Back at work

I think this was a day a lot of people thought would never happen, after so many setbacks, but I am finally back working at B&W Equine Vets (Breadstone Practice).

It is such a great feeling to have a routine back and to be working and doing something I love. The practice has such a great team, many of whom were there a couple of years ago before my accident. I am really enjoying using my brain and learning a new aspect of nursing. Cassie Wood is teaching me the ropes in pharmacy, and there is a lot to learn (pictured top).

I am doing a phased return to work and remarkably, I’m not feeling too tired after my first two weeks. I think going to Oaksey House prepared me quite well for this, as I was on the go all day doing rehab whilst I was there, plus practicing my cooking skills. My notorious cooking is still consisting of a lot of pasta dishes – I am hoping my housemate Georgie will help me expand my repertoire.

Exciting times ahead – I’ve been graded…

I have officially got my RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) Grading, which came out as a Grade II. This means I can get out and compete, if I can beg, borrow or steal a horse to do some competitions on! I am still looking for a para horse on loan, as my finances won’t allow me to buy one at this stage. Please keep the feelers out there…

Since I have moved up to Gloucestershire, I’ve had two incredible lessons with Pammy Hutton. I can’t describe the feeling of not only being in the saddle, but also being back at Talland having lessons again. Pammy has taught me since I was 12-years-old, so she knows me inside out.

Pammy and Charlie (Pammy’s son) made me one very happy girl on Tuesday, as I was allowed to ride international dressage horse Abira (pictured left) in my lesson. Wow, now that was an amazing feeling! The previous week I rode a horse called Tommy, who was also very smart and had been there and got the T-shirt.

I mastered flying changes with both horses and I felt what it’s like to sit on a very smart dressage horse. They are definitely slightly different from the event horses I have been used to.

I have always had the bug for eventing, galloping and jumping (which I still do), but I am getting seriously ‘caught’ by the dressage bug. The horses I have been riding move and feel like they are dancing.

Rehabilitation – Oaksey and Cadbury House Gym

My physio and fitness are continuing to progress. I go to Oaksey House every Monday for a couple of neuro physio sessions with Cat Henson, and an FES bike session and massage with Rob Treviss.

We are still working a lot on gaining control over the spasms and trying to get as much weight through my left leg as possible. We’ve been doing some more work using the incredible ‘bionic leg’, which I have found extremely beneficial and also I have been practicing walking with someone either side of me, holding my arms. This is really hard as you can’t put as much weight through their hands as I do with the crutches, but this is the idea.

The FES sessions (or electrocution sessions!) with Rob have been progressing and I am building up the amount of time and distance I am covering on the bike.

I have completely landed on my feet at a gym/swimming pool (The Cadbury House) just down the road from where I am living. There is a great atmosphere, and there was no judgement or worries about my disabilities when I signed up to a membership package. I got a great feeling from the day I walked in.

I swim most days and I feel that really helps with the spasms, and it is something I can do for my fitness without being hindered by my left leg in a massive way. I think everyone thinks I am completely bonkers when I go to get in the pool off my crutches, with my leg in spasm. They soon realise that I am more than capable in the pool, and I even swim in the lanes.

I was a bit apprehensive at first about going into another gym, without the help or guidance that I had at Oaksey. However, I have been very lucky to have help from Sam Iles, who works at Cadbury. He has set me up with a programme, shown me how to use the various pieces of equipment and even had me on the treadmill, as I was doing at Oaksey.

The aim is to keep improving my overall body strength – this will all pay dividends for my riding and progressing my rehab.

Team chase day out – a faller…

A day out at the Cotsworld Hunt Team Chase as supporter/team mascot/Chef d’equipe, could have been classed as rehab, in that I had to walk miles from the lorry park to the course and where everything was going on in the marquees.

The B&W Bandits team (pictured below) which consisted of Jade, Carys, Cassie and Julia, had a great ride round with a couple of relatively inexperienced horses, doing their first team chase. They all flew.

Unfortunately for me I was the only faller of the day. As my leg had given up by the sixth time of going back and forwards to the lorry park I got a piggy back from Jade (above). This was all going smoothly until I wanted to dismount and my leg went into spasm and stayed on Jade’s side and brought her down on top of me.

There were a few concerned looks around me, but as I was just laughing a passer-by said to us: ‘A bit more water with your next drink!’ I actually hadn’t drunk a drop. Having not a lot of feeling in my left leg, and nothing in my foot was a blessing in disguise at this point – every cloud etc.

I think I am now official team mascot. Or perhaps just entertainment value!

Suze

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I was thinking how I could best sum up my last few weeks at Oaksey House, so, I thought I’d use a few words that truly describe it to start us off — no limits, breakthroughs and an utterly incredible feeling.

I have had an extremely full-on three weeks at Oaksey House, and even though I am starting to become quite shattered, I get excited about the start of every day and what’s next on the list to achieve or what the physio’s have in store for me in terms of different ideas and goals to reach in the future.

Since I had my accident in July 2012, I have either been in hospital or living with my parents in Cornwall, so my time up at Oaksey recently has been my longest spell away from them. I am very grateful for everything they have done for me through some horrendous times, but I am so proud to be coming out the other side and gaining my independence and life back.

The only thing that is slightly debatable has got to be my skills in the kitchen! I’m a liability and shouldn’t be allowed in there — end of. On my first night back at Oaksey I went to cook my speciality ‘pesto pasta’ but yet again the hob caused me grief. The next day I had a kind but very smug Rob Treviss fix it for me, and needless to say my ‘Hobby’ nickname still stands.

When my good friend Beth came for supper, I have to say the majority of the ingredients I used were out of date (apart from the chicken). Thankfully there were no ill effects. Needless to say, news of my cooking obviously soon spread throughout the Reading area and by the time another

friend Katie came for supper, she opted for going out for a meal. Good choice.

On the Sunday before I started at Oaksey again, I was involved with helping my brother (Jamie Hext) run a ‘Tall Ships viewing car park’ from St Mawes, overlooking where the Tall Ships race started. It had a spectacular view and it was a stunning day. I was helping out with directing and parking cars for the day (pictured above right). I had some seriously good signalling skills going on with my crutches which caused a lot of comments and smiles all-round.

More major milestones smashed

I am in complete shock at the amount that I have managed to achieve in such a relatively short period of time at Oaksey House. They really do make you feel like anything is possible, and I believe them. I don’t think I was so convinced at the beginning, but having seen my progress I think if you want some thing badly enough you can strive to achieve some pretty exceptional goals.

At the forefront of my achievements would definitely have to be swimming for the first time since my accident (pictured below left). It was such an incredible feeling, and it opens so many doors in terms of helping me therapeutically plus it’s great for my overall fitness.

I found it extremely difficult to trust that the rest of my body could just swim, no matter what my left leg was doing to start with. Once I had broken down this barrier in my head, I was away. I had a ‘woggle float’ around me, and Nadia (a neurological physio) behind me for a while. I then realised

she had let go of me half-way across the pool without me noticing. I looked back and she just said ‘keep swimming’. This was just the start, by the end I had no float around me and I was doing lengths of the pool!

My birthday was last week and the best present I could ask for was the staggering improvements I am making. Granted, a lot of what I do looks slightly unconventional at the moment, but my God have I come a long way. It felt great to enjoy my birthday out of hospital and off the opiates. Just to clarify to everyone, I have decided I’m only 24-years-old (I am in fact 26) as the last two years don’t count! I had an incredible evening and was spoilt rotten by my friends Beth Robertson and Becky Brookes. Cake, fajitas, party hats, balloons and enjoying the feeling of being so well.

I had hydro-therapy on my birthday, and we continued with improving my swimming and controlling my spasms. Front crawl is the best stroke for me, and back-stroke has to be the worst as it sends my spasms into a complete turmoil. I had Nadia holding me up and two floats and it was still very ‘interesting’. I even managed to do a birthday somersault in the pool, and before you ask, it was totally intentional.

I felt like I was in a proper swimming session with Andy (another of the physios) when we did pyramid training sets. I was very surprised how well my body coped with it and I loved it. We also did walking in the pool, with me holding Andy’s hands and going from side to side. My next aim is to get my tumble turns sorted and then I’ll be away.

Making headway with my walking

My interesting style of walking has come on leaps and bounds (that’s probably not the best pun to use). My foot placement is still a huge issue, as the foot ends up on its side the majority of the time. This is due to the spasms and the fact that I can’t lift the front of my foot to place it.

The last few weeks have been full of trying out new pieces of equipment to aid with my foot placement and general walking pattern. I have even been on the treadmill, not only walking forwards, but backwards as well. I do find this a bit un-nerving but I can now actually walk backwards better than forwards. The idea is to get a bit of a rhythm up and focus on the placement. I sometimes need some help from the physios with initiating that foot placement.

The incredible bionic leg has been back in use again. This time I have been using it to try and learn to walk in it. I managed to get some fantastic steps and some great foot placement. The latest gadget that we are using to help my foot placement is FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation). This is extremely exciting for the future as it will be a tool I can use to help me walk most of the time. The FES has a foot switch in the right shoe and that initiates the left foot to pick up and stop me dragging my foot on its side. So, not only does Rob electrocute me daily, I now have Nadia electrocuting me when I am walking. I suppose it is one way to fire it all into action!

I really feel like my body is beginning to get a lot stronger physically. This is from the combination of physio, gym work, strength and conditioning with Mike Peacock and FES Bike and massage with Rob. I am certainly beginning to get used to the FES Bike and the feeling of being electrocuted. I find this extremely beneficial and I am making some slow improvements.

Is it goodbye to getting on from the lift?

I’m hoping I may have mastered a way of getting on a horse without needing the lift. I have been practicing on the Equicizer, and I can balance through my left leg — it just need a helping hand getting it into the stirrup and then I can get on. I am hoping this all goes according to plan on an actual horse. I can also get on the wrong side, if all else fails.

I can’t wait to put this into practice when I get back to Lakefield with Mark and Becky. I am desperate to be back in the saddle again.

Weekends out and social

My weekends have been great fun and I was very lucky to be able to stay at Lucy Dickenson and Jordon Riley’s again for both weekends. The highlight of my first weekend had to be

spending the day at a Pony Club Show at Rectory Farm watching Saffi Aiuto competing. She certainly had a successful day and came home with a heap of rosettes. We all had a massive picnic, and it felt like old times (pictured right). Lots of laughing and possibly too much at times, so my leg spasms joined in and kicked someone in the leg!

My second weekend was filled with a trip to Blenheim International Horse Trials. It was such a fantastic day and I managed to catch up with a lot of friends. The pinnacle of my day was finally meeting Claire Lomas face to face (pictured below left). She’s been my inspiration the whole way through my accident, she just never gives up and the work she is doing for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation is phenomenal. I am going to help out with the Pogo night on 24 January, and I’m already looking forward to it.

I nearly didn’t make it back to the shuttle bus which took you back to the car park, as my legs were so tired. I was getting some very strange looks. I think people thought I was drunk on my crutches looking at the different directions my legs were going in!

I’d just like to say a massive ‘thank-you’ to everyone that has helped me get this far. Whether it’s been supporting me emotionally, physically or financially, you know who you are. I couldn’t have got here without all of you.

Moving Forward

I am definitely going to miss not being an in-patient at Oaksey House. It’s such a fantastic atmosphere and a great group of people to be around. I will be heading back to Oaksey at the beginning of October but as an out-patient, and I will fit it in around being back working at B&W Equine Vets.

Suze

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Jockey Brian Toomey — who had a life-threatening fall at Perth racecourse last year — is intending to reapply for his jockey’s licence.

Brian, 25, was in an induced coma for 18 days after falling from Solway Dandy three from home on 4 July last year.

After five months in hospital, he went to Oaksey House in Lambourn, the Injured Jockeys Fund rehabilitation centre.

“I had a 3% chance of survival on the day of the accident. My family were told I wouldn’t get through the next 24 hours,” Toomey (pictured above and right) told H&H.

“It’s been a long haul. My surgeon told me one in 60 people come out of this injury alive.”

The jockey started riding out again two months ago at trainer Brian Ellison’s Malton yard and is now waiting for one last report from his neurologist.

“I have researched loads of professional sportsmen and women who’ve come back after a similar injury,” added Brian.

But he admitted: “There are no guarantees I will get my licence back.”

Dr Jerry Hill who recently took over as the chief medical adviser at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for jockey’s recovery from injury and will approve or deny a licence.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now