A young rider who was “broken in half” when a horse fell on top of her and told she might never walk again, “amazed” doctors by leaving hospital on her own two feet.

Aliza Rae AliKhan had to have emergency spinal surgery, and another operation, after her fall, and her parents were told to prepare for the worst.

But thanks to her “dream team” of medical professionals at Southampton Children’s Hospital (SCH) – and her own determination – Aliza Rae was walking “almost unaided” within eight weeks of the accident and is now back in the saddle.

An SCH spokesperson said 12-year-old Aliza had the “freak riding accident” last August.

“The horse suddenly spooked and fell on her,” he said. “She was rushed by ambulance to SCH for emergency spinal surgery. She survived that but was left unable to walk due to the severity of the accident and complexity of the operation.”

Scans showed that Aliza had sustained fractures to a vertebra in the lower spine and that some bone fragments had entered the spinal canal, compressing it and its nerves.

SCH consultant spinal surgeon Evan Davies led the emergency surgery, to stabilise Aliza’s spine with metal rods and remove the fractured pieces.

“When Aliza arrived in the hospital, she was, for want of a better word, broken in half – her top half wasn’t connected to the bottom half,” he said.

“I was concerned that the damage had already been done, and my first thought was that this girl might never walk again. My main priority in the initial emergency operation was to relieve the pressure that the broken bone was causing and give the nerves the room they need.”

Staying positive

Aliza’s mother Thirza AliKhan said it was a day she will never forget.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen and I suppose it didn’t really hit us until the next morning,” she said. “We just needed to stay positive for the sake of Aliza Rae. She was conscious and she was talking, so we just focused on that and went from there.

“We didn’t know what the future would hold, but we knew we were in the best hands and Aliza Rae just kept focusing on what she could do, not what she couldn’t.”

A follow-up X-ray showed more small pieces of bone that needed to be removed, so Aliza had to undergo a second operation, a vertebrectomy.

“This was a more complex procedure, as we had to access the spine through her chest and abdomen to remove the damaged vertebrae and insert screws into her bone,” Mr Davies said. “The vertebrae were then replaced with an expanding cage, to hold the spine in place while it healed. The surgery was a success, but we had no idea if this would mean Aliza Rae would ever walk again.”

Aliza Rae was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit, where her rehab regime started within 48 hours, led by the Southampton specialist children’s integrated rehabilitation team.

“We are very lucky to have access to such a fantastic rehabilitation service,” said SCH paediatric spinal injury nurse specialist Jo Newman.

“Research shows that patients make better progress when rehabilitation begins at the earliest opportunity and can reduce the length of their hospital admission.”

At first Aliza Rae had little to no movement in her legs but within a fortnight, she was able to leave behind the hoist that had lifted her out of bed, “sliding herself on to a banana board” instead.

“We didn’t know what the future held for Aliza Rae when she came out of surgery, but she maximised her potential by taking every opportunity we offered,” Ms Newman said. “She was engaging with all her therapy sessions, attending school, accessing psychology and youth support, she even attended her own multidisciplinary team meetings!

“She never had any period of being down or giving up, she had this most incredible personality. At the moments she did feel low, she used it to her advantage to keep pushing on.

“The progress was slow, and changes didn’t happen overnight, but within eight weeks Aliza Rae was up and walking, almost unaided.”

Aliza Rae left hospital just after her 13th birthday. She is now back at school and planning a fundraising event for the hospital.

“I want to give something back to everyone that looked after me,” she said. “I remember being told I might never walk again, but I had this amazing team, my ‘dream team’, and they never gave up on me. They became like friends, not just doctors and physios. They helped me believe in myself.”

Mrs AliKhan said the family would “for ever be grateful” to the “amazing” SCH team for all they did for her daughter.

Mr Davies added: “It’s awesome to see how far Aliza Rae has come, but the surgery was just a small part of her recovery. The rehab team, therapists and nurses, they all played a huge part, as well as the individual herself, she really is something very special.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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“We can do this” is the message from a former eventer, who walked this summer, 22 years after she was paralysed in a riding fall.

Catriona Williams has flown from New Zealand to take part in Cycle4Caroline, a bike marathon in memory of fellow eventer Caroline March. She and others including Caroline’s brother and sister-in-law Tom and Piggy March, and British Eventing Support Trust patron Alastair Wilson, husband of 2021 European eventing champion Nicola, left Blair Castle in Scotland today (20 November) and will arrive at the Savoy Hotel in London in 10 days’ time. The 684-mile ride has so far raised over £58,000 for the British Eventing Support Trust and Spinal Research.

“We can do this,” Catriona told H&H. “Spinal cord injuries shouldn’t mean a lifetime in a chair. We can do more.”

Catriona competed at Badminton Horse Trials and was aiming to represent New Zealand at the 2004 Olympics until her fall in 2002. She set up the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Research Trust, which funds projects aiming to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Since she set up the trust, Catriona has completed the New York City Marathon and climbed to Everest base camp on a handcycle. She was a finalist in the 2014 KiwiBank New Zealander of the Year, inducted into the New Zealand Horse of the Year Show hall of fame, and recognised in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours list as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

She said she saw a post about the Cycle4Caroline ride by chance.

“I’m not very good on social media but it popped up,” she said. “I’d just got my bike, which I’d been working on for two years, and been for a ride. [My husband] Sam and I have a bit of a thing about either no or ‘Hell, yeah!’ and I said ‘I need to do this’.”

Catriona emailed Piggy but then found the Cycle4Caroline website and realised the ride was in memory of Caroline, who died aged 31 in March, nearly two years after she suffered spinal injuries in a cross-country fall.

“I realised this wasn’t just riders going for a cycle, it was a really big deal and maybe I was gate-crashing,” she said. “I sent another email apologising but within minutes, got a beautiful email back saying ‘We’d love you to come’. I feel very lucky to be among these courageous, brave, inspiring people.”

Follow the riders’ progress on Facebook

Catriona said it is 22 years, almost to the day, since her fall.

“Everyone remembers the day it happens,” she said. “When I read Caroline’s post, it really hit a spot. I have a friend who was really upset by it and I said no one can judge. Only someone in her shoes knows what she was going through and right or wrong, agree or disagree, we have to do more, as an industry. Everyone who’s capable of supporting or donating; we have to do more.

“We have to back the research because change is coming but it needs money and if we put our hands up, we can make things happen.”

Catriona said she “stepped sideways” from the trust she founded as she wanted to push herself and her body to see what she could achieve.

Donate to Cycle4Caroline online

“I’ve got my legs moving, I can stand in a frame,” she said. “I walked into our dinner this year.

“I’m 53 and the message is, this is what I’m doing, 22 years post injury. If we back the research and add it to what’s being done, whether it’s stem cells or electrodes – I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t believe it was possible. It’s so exciting when you speak to people at Spinal Research UK; this will happen, but it won’t happen without support.”

Catriona joked that “as a disabled person, able-bodied people don’t move fast enough” but stressed that every pound raised will help the “best and brightest minds” conduct the research needed to find a way for people with spinal cord injuries to recover.

“I feel it’s something the equestrian industry can really get behind,” she said. “Unless you’re really close to it, you tend to just go ‘yeah, yeah’ and carry on, which is of course natural, but if you’re the person in the chair or their family, this is really exciting.

“We need to get people not afraid to back this, and not afraid to hope. We put a man on the moon; we can do this.”

Supporters are invited to join the cyclists through Badminton Park and on the last leg from Windsor Castle to London; more information is online.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout major shows such as London International and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Piggy March has spoken about why she’s taking part in the 1100km Cycle4Caroline bike ride, in aid of Spinal Research and the British Eventing (BE) Support Trust, and in memory of her sister-in-law Caroline March.

The Badminton and Burghley winner said at the launch of the event yesterday (19 August): “I’ve been eventing for 25 or 30 years and I love our sport, but I’ve realised over the past few years how fine the line is between enjoying a wonderful sport – not worrying about anything but whether you’ve won a rosette or had two fences down – and what really matters, which is family life, the people you care about. And I’ve seen how easily things can go wrong.”

She added: “I hate exercise, but I was mentally lost at the beginning of the year. I didn’t have any horses to aim for the Olympics and I was lost and grieving. I needed a challenge.”

Cycle4Caroline will involved Piggy March, her husband Tom and six other riders cycling from Blair Castle to London from 20-30 November, with the aim of raising £500,000 for the charities involved.

“It was important we did something that is going to be tough – to say, ‘Shut up, you’re lucky to have legs that still work, get to the top of that hill’,” said Piggy. “It’s important to put something back into the sport, to help other families in the future and give people the best possible quality of life after a serious accident.”

Piggy said she and bicycles are not natural friends: “I’d not been on a bike for years before we started training and one of my first memories is falling off a bike and breaking my nose when I was about eight years old.”

She added that she is used to sitting on a horse so the forward position of being crouched over handlebars is a different sort of conditioning for her body.

“I keep having to get off and lie down,” she said.

The riders are scheduled to arrive at the Savoy Hotel in London on 30 November, in time for the BE Support Trust ball at the venue that evening.

“I said to Tom, ‘Can’t we arrive a few days earlier?’ If we get to the Savoy for the ball and are still able to walk and talk and hold a glass of champagne, it’ll be a small miracle!” said Piggy.

Find out how to support Cycle4Caroline

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Double five-star winner Piggy March and her husband Tom will lead a group of eight cyclists on a 1,100km ride from Blair Castle to London this autumn, a challenge named Cycle4Caroline.

They will aim to raise half a million pounds for Spinal Research and the British Eventing (BE) Support Trust in memory of Tom’s sister Caroline, who passed away in March this year after sustaining life-changing injuries in an eventing fall in April 2022.

“It’s been very difficult for all her friends and family and we found ourselves a bit lost in terms of where we were going and what to do with ourselves,” said Tom, explaining that the idea for the ride came out of a discussion over lunch with former event rider Tommy How, now a director of body protector manufacturer Racesafe.

“He was talking about riding from London to Paris, then Piggy said she’d be up for that and another beer later, it was spiralling out of control.”

The ride will start at Blair Castle on 20 November and finish at the Savoy Hotel in London on 30 November, the day of the BE Support Trust ball at the venue. Along the way, it will take in all the British CCI4*-L and CCI5* venues – Blair, Bramham, Burghley, Badminton and Blenheim – as well as Belsay, Chatsworth and Windsor.

Joining Tom and Piggy on Cycle4Caroline will be Tommy How, Ian Stark (chair of trustees for the BE Support Trust), Piggy’s sister Nini French, event rider Holly Woodhead, Brett Bullimore (husband of medal-winning event rider Sarah) and Alastair Wilson, who is joint-patron of the BE Support Trust with his wife Nicola Wilson, who suffered life-changing spinal injuries in a fall at Badminton Horse Trials in 2022. Special guests will join for sections along the way.

Training has started for most of the core participants, with some good-natured joshing at the event launch today (19 August) at Piggy’s yard in Maidwell, Northamptonshire.

“It’s downhill from Scotland to London – what can go wrong?” said Alastair.

Tom explained gently: “That’s not the case – and there’s a reason everyone cycles from Land’s End to John O’Groats, which is the prevailing wind, but we only learnt that after we’d set the route, so we’re looking forward to lots of wind in our faces in November.”

The group’s route will involve some significant hills when they stop in at Ian Stark’s home near Selkirk – “I wasn’t sure that was such a good idea, looking at the topography map,” said Tom – as well as when they visit Chatsworth.

“Having a support system is fantastic”

The group hope Cycle4Caroline will raise £500,000 through donations and partnering with businesses. The money raised will be split equally between Spinal Research and the BE Support Trust.

Alastair said: “The BE Support Trust were very good to Nicola and me when we were in trouble two years ago. When you are at rock bottom, having a support system to get hold of you is fantastic.

“You can lose your sport, your business and it’s a lonely place to be. And they help people with less serious injuries, too.”

BE Support Trust general manager Jane Hunter-Walsh said the money will be “transformative” for the charity, which was founded in 2021 to support the physical and mental health of BE competing members. It has helped more than 60 people since then.

“The average beneficiary has six sessions, at a cost of £540, and when someone has a life-changing injury, supporting them can run into six figures,” she said.

Tom said “having a safety net there to help in that moment of need is invaluable”, going on to talk about Caroline’s passion for new technology and developments in spinal cord research.

“We wanted a charity beyond equestrian, which is fighting to make people’s lives better when they have suffered a spinal cord injury,” he said.

Spinal Research has been operating for 40 years and is the UK’s leading charity funding medical research worldwide to develop effective treatments for paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury. Someone in the UK suffers a spinal cord injury every two hours, many of them in car crashes or everyday situations such as falling down the stairs.

Tara Stewart, chair of Spinal Research, said this support “couldn’t have come at a better time” because the charity is finally at the stage where function-restoring therapeutics are being tested in human trials, offering real hope that curing paralysis will be the medical breakthrough of the 21st century.

The support team for Cycle4Caroline includes cycling trainer Sara Symington (double Olympic cyclist and now head of Olympic and Paralympic programmes at British Cycling), physio Ash Wallace, bicycle mechanic Alan Rayner, Sarah Skillin (founder and director of marketing agency EquiConsulting) and Pippie Polson and Piggy’s head girl Amy Phillips, who are leading on logistics, marketing and partnerships.

Find out how to support Cycle4Caroline

• To stay up-to-date with all the breaking news throughout the Paralympic Games, Burghley, Horse of the Year Show and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Extensive research is under way taking a holistic look at spinal injuries in jockeys, with a view to preventing these in future.

Physiotherapist and University of Bath PhD student Daloni Lucas gave an overview of the projects that come under the umbrella of the analysis of prevention of spinal injuries in horse racing, at the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) conference (26 April). The research, funded by the Racing Foundation, is a collaboration between Bath University, the British Horseracing Authority and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

“In racing, there’s very little evidence that investigates the mechanisms of spinal injury,” Ms Lucas told H&H.

“So for example, there are studies that report the epidemiology, which is the sort of incidence and prevalence of spinal injuries in equestrian sports. But no previous researchers look to the aetiology [causes or reasons] to get an understanding of exactly how and why the injuries are happening, not just reporting that they are and the rate of injury.”

She added: “First, you need to understand how big the problem is and then you need to understand exactly why they’re happening. And with those two things, you can look at prevention strategies, but without understanding why they’re occurring, you can’t actually inform injury prevention.”

Individual studies beneath the umbrella include analysing 700 videos of falls, taking into factors including race type, environmental conditions such as the ground and the fence, and a person’s health and medical history alongside looking at the biomechanics of the fall itself. For every person who sustains a spinal injury in a fall, the study will look at four who did not, to try to pin down the significant variables that contribute to injury.

The next step, which will be undertaken by another PhD student, will be computerised spinal injury simulations.

The research has also led Ms Lucas to explore the current use of safety wear in racing, which is also helping in the development of body protectors and a push towards education of how they should fit.

Ms Lucas found that “alarmingly”, 64.3% of jockeys who responded had not been fitted for their current body protectors, and more than a third of those tested were not wearing the right size.

This has led to “lots of positives”, including adding weight to a push on education and also on getting fresh feedback from jockeys in terms of the flexibility and comfort, alongside protection they want and need in a body protector.

Racing’s body protector rules changed in 2017 in Ireland and 2018 in Britain, increasing the minimum standard from BETA level one to level two.

Racesafe, which produces BETA level two-standard body protectors, has produced prototypes informed by the research and the jockeys’ feedback.

Racesafe’s James How told H&H the research is “good timing”.

“From our point of view, the technology and the materials have developed and progressed sufficiently from 2017/18, which means we can look at developing an updated model,” he said.

“Now we are at the stage where we can offer the same level two protection in a new product that is lighter, more comfortable and a bit thinner.”

He added that Racesafe offers a vastly expanded range of sizes to suit different body shapes, and in-house alterations to ensure the garments fit well.

Racesafe’s retailers are all trained, and the firm is looking to educate jockeys further on licensing courses and valets, who care for and often procure equipment for their riders.

“[Correct fit is] critical,” said Mr How, adding that this covers protection, comfort and flexibility.

“There’s no way around it. It is all very well us developing a product that’s offering a certain level of protection and comfort, but if it isn’t covering the areas it needs to, it of course isn’t going to offer the same level of protection.”

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits. 

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An Olympic eventer and a rider who was paralysed in a fall are raising funds for research that in trials has enabled those with spinal cord injuries to regain movement.

Former world champion Ginny Elliot is a patron of Spinal Research, for which trustee Tara Stewart has been raising money since she was paralysed from the neck down in 2014. Tara told H&H the research into neuromodulation, electrical stimulation treatment through the skin or via implants, is the subject of a number of clinical trials worldwide, in which participants have noticed various improvements.

“I’m on a trial involving stimulation through the skin and we’ve had remarkable results,” she said. “I’ve become stronger, recovered some sensation and have been able to activate my legs a bit. When I had my fall, I was told there was no hope; I’d never walk again. A couple of years ago, in Switzerland, a man who’d almost severed his spinal cord was able to walk with an implant.”

Tara was 43 when she had her fall in 2014, while hacking a horse who’d had kissing-spine surgery, the day before she moved him to a yard to progress his rehab.

“I got off his back and asked him to canter and he just exploded bucking,” she said. “Because I was in two-point position, I came straight off. I tucked my head to roll, but didn’t have enough distance and I hit the ground head-first. I heard my neck snap, so I knew exactly what had happened and I was on the ground for five and a half hours. Part of your brain thinks, ‘You know what’s happened, you’re paralysed now,’ but part is in total disbelief.”

Tara’s horse stayed with her, alerting a passer-by to her presence – “so he did save my life, bless him” – and she was taken to hospital, where her survival hung in the balance. She spent months in hospital and rehab.

“Then I got home and thought, ‘What do I do now?’” she said. “I’m a C6/7 tetraplegic, so all four limbs are affected, but I do have some use of my arms and one hand and am not on a ventilator, so I’m better than I could be.”

Tara chose to raise money for the air ambulance and Spinal Research, a charity actively working towards treatment for spinal cord injuries and paralysis.

The current fundraising drive is based around Badminton Horse Trials, this year and next, and an online prize draw. Prizes include a VIP lunch and course-walk with Ginny at Badminton 2023, a craft gin hamper and a Fairfax & Favor bag. Influencer Megan Elphick, who has qualified for the BE90 final at Badminton, is involved, so Ginny will do a course-walk of her course this year, which will be shared on Megan’s Instagram with the prize-draw details.

Enter the draw online by 20 May

Ginny told H&H the research and its implications are “incredibly important”. She started working with the Riding for the Disabled Association in the 1980s and has been a patron of Spinal Research since 1993.

“I’ve had more falls than I can shake a stick at and it’s a bit ‘there but for the grace of God’,” she said, adding that her fundraising efforts so far have included many course-walks, dinners and a four-day ride from Wiltshire to Stoke Mandeville.

“People got sponsorship and joined us because their friend or family member had had an accident and was in a wheelchair, and their stories are heart-rending,” she said. “Tara got hold of me and we hatched this plan, and what better person to work with than Tara? Her enthusiasm, her work ethic – she’s an extraordinary human being.”

Ginny said breaking her leg very badly in a fall in 1997, and the resulting lack of mobility, gave her a hint of what people with spinal cord injuries experience and made her even more keen to help.

“This fundraising is a real push to change people’s lives,” she said. “This neuromodulation is something that can do that.”

Some people in the trials have regained torso function or use of their legs; others have regained bladder and bowel control.

“We’ve got something that’s working and very promising,” Tara said. “We need more trials but the wonderful thing is there’s hope; we believe we can restore function. Everyone’s looking for the ultimate cure but any restoration of function, of control and dignity, would be life-transforming.

“There could also be implications for people who have motor neurone disease or strokes. And as we saw during Covid, amazing things can happen if the money’s there; with the right funding, you can do almost anything.

“It’s a feeling like the sun coming out after a long, long winter. I understand why doctors have to be brutal and tell you there’s no hope, but to have hope now that you might improve — even if I could improve the 10% function of my right hand, to write and type and dress myself, it would be transformational and that’s now within our grasp.”

Spinal Research CEO Harvey Sihota said: “Scientists are making remarkable progress in understanding the spinal cord and what it may take to restore vital functions after injury.

“We currently support a portfolio of 20 research projects, crucially eight of which are being trialled in humans. Funding is now critical to see these important discoveries translated to patients. Your support will help transform the lives of 60,000 people in the UK and more than 2.5 million people living with paralysis worldwide.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

RISK of hospitalisation from equestrian-related injuries has been “severely underappreciated”, data suggests.

A study, Hearing hoofbeats? Think head and neck trauma: a 10-year NTDB analysis of equestrian-related trauma in the USA, by researchers in Texas, analysed data from the US National Trauma Data Bank from 2007 to 2016 to look at injuries recorded as horse-related with the aim of allowing the development of “targeted prevention strategies”. As part of the work, researchers compared the data against studies looking at motorcycle racing, skiing and football and said this research mirrors previous findings that the proportion of trauma centre admissions from equestrian injuries was higher, and when taken together the data suggests the dangers of equestrian activities has been “severely underappreciated”.

Of the 24,791 injuries analysed, 37.07% were in the chest region and 22.95% were head injuries. Riders aged between 50 and 59 were most likely to visit trauma centres.

One of the researchers, trauma surgeon Jeffrey Skubic, told H&H it is hoped the study will raise awareness about wearing protective equipment, especially in the US where Western riding is more common.

“A lot of these injuries can be prevented if riders wear helmets or a vest [body protector],” said Dr Skubic. “What concerns us is when we compare the data to previous studies on skiing, motorcycle riding or football, there is a higher injury rate in riding. People traditionally think of getting on a motorcycle as dangerous, but it’s a machine that you can control the majority of the time. A horse has a mind of its own and you don’t know what it’s going to do.”

“We also want to raise awareness to trauma surgeons when they are getting a patient who has fallen off a horse to know what injuries they should be looking for.”

Major trauma consultant Diane Fisher, the British Equestrian Trade Association’s chief medical officer, told H&H she welcomes the study but that it is difficult to compare like for like between the US and the UK owing to the difference in riding styles, as more US riders do not wear a safety helmet. There is a national database that collects major trauma records in the UK, but it does not specifically collect equestrian data and this is something Dr Fisher is calling for.

“There is a definite mismatch between medics’ knowledge of equestrian injuries and potential for injury, because they don’t understand the mechanism by which we hurt ourselves,” she said. “On top of this, you have a community as a whole who jump back on with fractured ribs or broken arms. They’re late presenters and don’t go to hospital unless something is hanging off, and even then it can be days later.”

Dr Fisher added the importance of wearing safety helmets when handling horses on the ground and praised Charlotte Dujardin for wearing her helmet during her Tokyo Olympic trot-up with Gio.

“Many of the really serious injuries happen on the ground because people don’t tend to wear a hat taking their horse to the field, or when loading. I think this is the area we really need to concentrate on going forward.”

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Five-star event rider Hazel Towers is recuperating after emergency spinal surgery — and hopes to be competing again by the end of the season.

The rider had to have spinous processes, projecting pieces of bone, removed from her lumbar vertebrae on Tuesday, 20 July, as a result of a fall from a young horse over two years ago.

Hazel told H&H she was “a bit sore” but had been teaching, although while sitting in a chair.

“The doctors said I could do normal activities, then stopped and asked what a normal day was for me,” she said. “I told them and they said ‘You can’t do any of that’!”

Hazel said she had been managing the initial injury since spring 2019.

“I got decked on a bridleway, out hacking,” she said. “I landed on my sacroiliac, on a huge stone, and it pushed my discs out. Bulging discs are quite common and I had Badminton that year so didn’t think surgery two months before was ideal preparation.

“I did Badminton and Burghley that year, then about six months later, I was holding a horse for clipping and got flung across the stable. They were worried about my spinal cord being compressed so I thought surgery was probably necessary — or the doctors did!”

Then recently, jumping a fence of about 80cm tweaked Hazel’s back again.

“It was on the Friday and I bumbled through the weekend but by Monday it wasn’t getting better so they got me in,” she said. “The NHS is absolutely brilliant when you need it.”

Hazel praised her groom, who is riding the horses while she is out of action, and said she hopes to be back in the saddle in September, with the aim of competing at Allerton Park (18-19 September).

“But I’m not rushing anything,” she said. “The doctor said six to 12 weeks, but I’ll take it as it comes.”

Hazel has also put her mare Simply Clover, on whom she completed Badminton and Burghley, in foal to Timolin, so plans to concentrate on younger horses next season, including aiming for the Blenheim eight- and nine-year-olds’ class with Fuzzyfelt.

“The plan is to ride Clover’s baby round Badminton one day, but we’ll see,” she said. “But no more breakers out hacking for me now. If I have to fall off, I’d rather it was at Burghley than hacking a youngster!”

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Irish Olympic showjumper Kevin Babington has undergone a five-hour surgery to stabilise his neck after sustaining a serious injury to his cervical spine in a fall at a US event.

The 51-year-old rider was airlifted from the Hampton Classic Horse Show last Friday (3 August) after his top ride Shorapur fell at the third element of a treble during a qualifying round for the CSI4* grand prix. The 14-year-old mare was not injured in the incident.

The Irishman was transferred from Stony Brook University Hospital to the New York University Langone Medical Center in Manhattan earlier this week.

Kevin is an experienced member of the Irish team, with career highlights including individual fourth at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a European team gold medal in 2001 with Carling King. His numerous grand prix victories include Wellington and Hickstead’s King George V Gold Cup.

Originally from Tipperary, he has been based in the US since 1987 and currently lives in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania with his wife Dianna and two daughters.

In a Facebook post, Dianna described the aftermath of the accident as the “darkest hour” of her life.

“My hope for him is focused on quality of life and that there will be clinical trials to help him move forward,” she said. “Much of these avenues are not covered by insurance and will be dependent on private funding. I am sharing this because I want people to understand that the fundraising is essential. It can mean the difference in equipment available to him, therapies, vehicles, honestly I don’t even know.

“I am navigating in the dark, focusing on breathing and literally existing as we navigate hour-by-hour the information we are receiving. What has occurred is probably the worst thing that could have happened to him. If you know him you know he is talented but humble, kind, private, and giving among all things.”

A fundraiser for to help pay for Kevin’s medical expenses has been launched on Facebook by family friend Sissy Wickes.

The campaign had raised £290,356 of a target of £335,337 as of Wednesday morning (4 September).

“Kevin came through his surgery well. We continue to hope for improvement and are so appreciative of all of the donations and well wishes. We have just begun to fight,” Sissy posted in an update on Tuesday (3 September).

Continued below…

Irish rider wins King George V Gold Cup at Hickstead

Ireland's Kevin Babington triumphs in the King George V, while Germany's Helena Weinburg takes the Queen Elizabeth II Cup on

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British showjumper Peter Charles, who formerly rode for Ireland, was among those to offer words of support.

“I really hope my dear friend Kevin Babington makes some improvement today after his spinal surgery. He’s a real horseman and great all-round guy. Therefore it really saddens me to hear of his terrible back injury due to a bad fall,” he said in a post on Tuesday.

“We shared many good days winning European gold medals together, winning Calgary and along with Dermot [Lennon] all finishing top 10 in the worlds. Kevin is a fighter, but his family needs all the help we can give right now.”

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A rider who has returned to the saddle after she broke her back in a fall hopes to inspire others overcoming injuries.

Robyn Turner, 27, from Essex, was working on her project horse Erik with her mum when she suffered a fall in August 2015.

Robyn told H&H: “We‘d bought Erik in June, we knew he was a bit quirky but we took a chance on him. He had been out in a field for two years when we bought him. He had been doing really well, the day before my accident he’d been walking off the lungline happy as Larry but the day of my accident I sat on him and he went like a rodeo horse.

“My mum had him on the lunge line but she couldn’t hold on to him. I had no reins or stirrups and didn’t stand a chance – I ended up flying up in the air. As I came down he threw me up in the air again, and I landed on my back.”

Robyn’s mum called an ambulance but she was not taken to hospital.

“I’d rolled on to my stomach because I was in so much pain and I was given gas and air but they thought it was soft tissue damage and I was sent on my way. My mum and I run a livery yard so she finished dealing with the horses and we went home,” said Robyn.

“I’d been at home for three hours but I couldn’t get comfortable so my mum drove me to A&E and I had to wait another three hours for an X-ray. I can’t really describe the pain, it was something I hadn’t felt before and my back kept going into spasm.”

The X-ray showed Robyn had a compressed L1 vertebrae fracture and an L2 fracture.

“I was given a CT scan and my L1 vertebrae looked like it had exploded. The doctors said ‘don’t move you’ve broken your back’. I was absolutely petrified, all I could think was ‘will I be able to ride again?’” said Robyn.

Robyn underwent spinal surgery and spent six days in hospital, after which she started weekly physio sessions.

“The doctors were really pleased with the operation and they got me up walking quite quickly but I was only allowed to walk for five minutes. My grandparents bought me a reclining chair because I couldn’t get up from a low sofa,” said Robyn.

“At first I was really affected by the accident and suffered post traumatic stress disorder, if I saw a paramedic or an ambulance I would break down. The only place I felt comfortable was spending time at the yard with my horses.”

Robyn got back on her horse Duo three months after her accident, but said Erik is not rideable due to health issues.

“I had a sit on Duo and got back off again. That was all I managed to cope with without going into a panic even though I knew he wouldn’t do anything,” said Robyn. “In springtime 2016 I started getting back into riding properly and got my fitness back up. I had planned to compete Duo that year but we lost him in October 2016 to complications from sinusits.

“I bought Paddy, a part-bred Connemara, after losing Duo but in May 2017 I broke my wrist so he had some time off. I’ve been slowly bringing him back into work, he has been a superstar for helping me rebuild my confidence – he’s brought it back and up and I’m really enjoying doing everything again. I’m hoping to do a BE80 in April and aim for a BE90 by the end of the season.”

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Robyn hopes to inspire other riders who have been through similar experiences.

“After my accident, I reached out to people to see if anyone had had a similar accident and got back riding and I found it really helped hearing from others that they had got back doing what they love,” said Robyn.

“I know everyone is different and you’ve got to think about the risks getting back on a horse – I could hurt myself but at the end of the day the saddle is where I want to be. It’s helped my mental health so much, I was in such a low place so if I can help other people know that after an injury spending time with your horse can really help.

“I’m not a superstar rider, but for low level people like me you can get back doing what you love again. I hope I can help other people to know after an injury it’s possible to overcome it. I’ve had some people say I’ve inspired them and it’s helped them get in a positive mindframe – the horse community is like a big family which is so lovely. Anything is possible as long as it’s something you love and as long as you understand the risks, then why not?”

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The daughter of a “galloping granny” who broke her neck in a fall is hoping to raise funds for a special lift to help get her mum back in the saddle.

Alvina Shiel, 68, suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury in a jumping lesson on her cob Troy last month but is determined to ride again.

 Her daughter Shelley Sterckx said her mum, who is currently being treated at a rehabilitation unit in Salisbury, had been excited to discover that lifts are available that could attach to the side of a lorry and hoist a rider into the saddle.

 “We were talking about her riding again and the biggest concern was how she would get on,” said Shelley. “I thought there must be something available, so I started Googling and found one.

 “When I said I’d found a company who made them, her whole face and attitude changed at the realisation that it was possible.”

 Alvina was originally unable to feel from her elbows down after suffering the C5/C6 break but has since regained feeling and movement in her arms and hands. Her family is hopeful this means she will be able to hold the reins once more.

 “She’s now in a self-propelled wheelchair and the hope is that the improvement in her arms and hands will continue. The legs haven’t improved so much but they are working up towards that and she will have hydrotherapy next week,” Shelley explained.

 “With some people a cord injury in that place can affect breathing and they can be on ventilator, so she’s been lucky in that aspect. She can feed herself now, fill out menu options for hospital food and use her phone, so the movement in her arms and her hands is coming back really well.”

 Alvina and Troy made the news in September when the 18-year-old cob came to visit her at Bristol’s Southmead hospital while she was still in intensive care. The piebald gelding, who Alvina has owned for two years, has since made the two-and-a-half hour journey to Salisbury to surprise her for her birthday last Saturday (6 October).

Continues below…

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 “Mum’s biggest motivation is to ride her ‘Troy Boy’ again,” added Shelley. “Mum is an inspiration to so many fellow riders, her journey shouldn’t end here and I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t.

 “We don’t have a lot and what we do have looks after our animals, so I am fundraising for the equipment which I hope will change my mum’s life.”

 Shelley has launched a fundraising page for the lift.

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Inspirational fundraiser Claire Lomas has begun her latest challenge — the Great North Run.

The former eventer, who was paralysed from the chest down in a cross-country fall at Osberton Horse Trialsin 2007, is walking the 13.1 mile route to raise money and awareness for the Nicolls Spinal Injury Foundation (NSIF).

Claire is wearing a bionic suit to walk the course, which runs between Newcastle and South Shields.

She began walking on Wednesday (7 September) and has been completing about three miles a day, visiting school en-route. So far, she has raised more than £10,400 on her JustGiving page.

“It will be a challenge, but I think that will bring the best out in me,” said Claire before the start.

“I have always wanted to do the Great North Run because it looks amazing, with a brilliant atmosphere.”

Those who have turned out to give their support to Claire include four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah.

The mother-of-one was invited to take part in the event when race organisers at the Great Run Company heard that her entry to the Vitality London 10000 in May had been rejected. Vitality London did then offer Claire an unofficial entry to its race and Claire raised more than £12,000 for NSIF by completing the 10km route in one day.

The Great Run Company have given Claire an official entry with start number 2016. They have also devised a special route for her, starting parallel to the Great North start line and leading to the Tyne Bridge, where she joins the traditional route.

“Claire is an inspiration and we are absolutely delighted to welcome her,” said Great Run Company chief executive Mark Hollinshead. “Her enthusiasm, positivity and ‘can do’ attitude is both uplifting and infectious.”

Related articles:

• Claire Lomas raises more than £500,000 in mission to cure paralysis
• Claire Lomas completes 10km challenge
• Claire Lomas to take on the Great North Run

Her husband, Dan, and five-year-old daughter Maisie will also take part in the Mini Great North Run on Saturday (10 September).

Claire is set to complete the final mile of the race on Sunday (11 September) ahead of the 57,000 runners, live on BBC television.

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An amateur jockey who broke her back in a fall is enjoying success in the side-saddle show ring.

Jo Mason crushed her T9 and fractured her T8 vertebrae in a fall at Huworth point-to-point on 21 March.

The 25-year-old, who was knocked out in the fall, was taken to hospital and was operated on the following week.

She now has eight pins and two rods in her back.

She sat on her first horse post-injury just two months after the accident.

While Jo, who is from Malton in North Yorkshire, was recovering she had the idea of trying side-saddle.

“You can’t be in your comfort zone forever,” she told H&H.

She trained with eventer Rachael Lupton, who put her in contact with some showing specialists, and then introduced her 13-year-old ex-racehorse Liverpool to the new sport.

“He just took it all in his stride like a fish to water,” she said.

“I was like a fish out of water.”

Before retiring from pointing in 2010, Jo rode him in a number of races – winning two.

Prior to that he raced six times under Rules, trained by her grandfather Mick Easterby.

Since then, the combination has taken part in Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) classes and competed at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) last year.

They entered their first side-saddle class – a HOYS qualifier – at the Great Yorkshire Show (12 July), where they came fourth.

The combination also picked up a third place in a RoR class.

“He was amazing,” said Jo.

“He is so laid back, he just shows off in the show ring.

“He didn’t do too bad for his first go.”

She is now planning where to enter next.

Jo’s jockey’s licence was also returned to her the week before the Great Yorkshire Show and she is now back racing.

She finished third in her first race back at Doncaster on 9 July and celebrated her first win post-injury on Space War in an amateur ladies’ race at Chester on 10 July. The horse was also trained by her grandfather, Mick.

Jo credited the work of newly-opened Injured Jockeys Fund rehabilitation centre Jack Berry House in helping with her recovery.

She also thanked Rachael for the help she has given her with side-saddle riding.

“It is all thanks to her that I made it to the Great Yorkshire Show,” she said.

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1 in 4 spinal fractures are undetected in jockeys admitted to A&E, according to the Professional Jockeys’ Association (PJA).

The organisation is launching a trial to try and improve diagnosis. The PJA medical report, which analysed data since 2009, revealed the extent of misdiagnosed vertebral injuries.

Racing authorities believe that A&E staff may not understand the mechanics and potential injury of a fall from a horse travelling at 30-40mph. The PJA has instigated an “informal trial” whereby jockeys are sent to hospital with video footage of their fall, potentially on a mobile phone.

The PJA sent a letter to racecourses on 7 March launching this trial, which is backed by the British Horseracing Authority and the Racecourse Association Ltd.

“The first responders on the track are brilliant and literally save lives,” said the PJA’s Paul Struthers. “But even if hospitals are told what the problem is and that they need to investigate it, unfortunately not all do.”

Top female Flat jockey Hayley Turner suffered a heavy fall last September. She was initially told she had sustained soft tissue damage, but a pelvic injury was diagnosed later that month. Further assessment revealed 3 vertebral fractures.

A&E nurse Sophie Rubie, from St George’s Hospital, Tooting, said footage would make “a huge difference”.

“The mechanism of injury is of utmost importance in trauma medicine,” she said. “Even if someone walks in seemingly ‘unscathed’ from a trauma, a full history of the mechanism is taken — for example in a jockey scenario, the speed and landing.

“The ones that may slip through the net are if they have no tenderness over their spine. Here a video would probably lead automatically to immobilisation of the spine, and x-rays.”

This article was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (20 March 2014)

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A team of jockeys went head-to-head against a team of eventers on Saturday (1 February) night to find out who had the best stickability.

The riders tested out their rodeo skills to see who could stay on the longest on a mechanical bucking horse.

The evening was organised by Claire Lomas — who was paralysed in an eventing fall in 2007 — in aid of the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation.

Some of the riders made it seem more difficult than others. William Fox-Pitt’s long legs were not enough to save him and he only lasted a disappointing 20sec on the horse.

Tina Cook, Bruce Haskell and AP McCoy didn’t fare much better in the stickability stakes.

In the end jockey Sam Thomas and eventer Laura Collett proved to have the greatest balance and grip.

In the final round to decide the winner, Laura managed to stay on for more than 6 minutes and was eventually allowed to dismount from the horse.

The evening raised more than £10,000 for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation who fund medical research to try and find a cure for spinal cord injury.

To make a donation please visit Claire’s website

Videos courtesy of MDR Photo via The Eventing Stig

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Tim Stockdale has been given the all-clear to jump again by his consultant, following a fall from a young horse in October, when he broke three vertebrae in his neck.

The showjumper was officially given the go-ahead to get back in the saddle today after a visit to his specialist – Aheed Osman – at the Midlands Spinal Injury Unit in Oswestry.

Tim told H&H: “I have to be really careful – it’s not like a broken arm or leg, where it will just hurt if you go too far. If I re-fracture the bone I’m in deep trouble.

“But I feel really well in myself.”

Last week Tim told H&H that he’d had a few quiet rides on sensible horses, just walking and trotting.

He spent six weeks in the spinal injuries clinic immediately after the fall on 17 October, taking his first steps again at the end of November.

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The consultant who treated showjumper Tim Stockdale for his broken neck says he is seeing more spinal injuries as a result of riding accidents than from rugby.

And he queries whether more hats should have flexible peaks.

Aheed Osman, of the Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries in Oswestry, told H&H he had seen a “dramatic rise” in such cases – across all levels of ability.

“Fifteen years ago, most of the sporting injuries I saw were from rugby,” he said.

“But now riding appears to be the most common sporting activity for causing spinal injuries.”

Mr Osman has had three riders – including Tim – on his ward in the past few months, but only one rugby player. He believes the reasons are twofold.

“Riding is becoming increasingly popular and rugby, particularly schoolboy rugby, has changed a lot.

“There is better coaching, better preparation – and the contact rules have altered slightly,” he said.

Tim spent six weeks at Oswestry after falling from a young horse. He hopes to

start riding again at the end of this month.

“There were three riders in that unit, which had 30 beds,” he said. “So to have 10 per cent taken up by riders seemed quite high.

“Perhaps in rugby there is a bit more awareness about the perils,” he added.

The other two injured riders – retired police officer Ian Bolshaw and Seline Hodoglu, who is 15 – were also thrown while trying new horses.

Mr Osman said he would always advise people to try a new horse on an artificial surface and to check the tack.

He also believes some of the injuries he has seen could have been reduced – or even avoided – if the rider had been wearing a hat with a collapsible peak.

“Mr Bolshaw went over the front of the horse and the [fixed] visor caused his neck to be pushed back,” he said.

“As a medic, I look at the mechanics of injury – and it makes a lot of sense mechanically to have a collapsible visor.”

But according to the Spinal Injuries Association, Mr Osman’s experiences are not necessarily reflected in the 11 spinal units across the UK.

Director Paul Smith said different areas tended to see different problems.

“And while riding is a risk activity, statistically far more spinal injuries are caused by falls and RTAs [road traffic accidents],” he added.

Mr Osman agrees – but stresses that it is possible to minimise the risk to riders.

“Fortunately, it is a rare injury,” he said. “Hopefully, by raising awareness, we can reduce it further.”

Tim is fundraising for the centre. To donate, go to: www.justgiving.com/British-Showjumping-2012.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (9 February 2012)

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Princess Anne is to visit Doncaster racecourse next week for a special charity race day.

The Princess Royal will be attending the raceday, which will raise funds for Spinal Injuries Association and the Hospital Heartbeat Appeal, on Friday 22 October.

The Princess Royal officially reopened Doncaster racecourse in August 2007 prior to the first St Leger Festival following a £34m facelift of the venue.

As patron of the Spinal Injuries Association, Princess Anne will visit the parade ring before the first race at 2.15pm — the HRH The Princess Royal E.B.F Maiden Fillies’ Stakes — which is named in her honour. She will also present the trophy to the winning owner.

Mark Spincer, managing director of Doncaster Racecourse, said: “We are looking forward to an excellent day of racing and fundraising in the presence of the Princess Royal.”

The race day is the Hospital Heartbeat Appeal’s main fundraising event of the year. Last year the charity purchased an analyser for use in the Cardio Respiratory Department at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

For more information visit www.doncaster-racecourse.co.uk

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Mary King recently became an ambassador for Spinal Research and she visited The London International Horse Show at Olympia yesterday to promote the charity’s work.

In her interview below she explains why it is so important for riders to support the charity, the loss of her beloved Call Again Cavalier, her plans for the 2009 season and her hopes for London 2012.

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Three-times champion national hunt jockey Richard Dunwoody is backing a new social networking site for people affected by spinal cord injuries.

MySpine.org is being launched by charity Spinal Research on 14 May at the Houses of Parliament, during the same week as Spinal Injuries Awareness Day — which is on 16 May.

Richard, who suffered a spinal injury while riding, said: “I have suffered, as have many close friends of mine, from varying forms of near miss spinal injuries and paralysis whilst riding.

“Anyone who is involved in riding should understand that it only takes one nasty fall for your life to be changed forever.

“A site like MySpine.org can play a really important role in connecting people with spinal injuries. I am honoured to be supporting the launch.”

Approximately 40,000 people in the UK suffer paralysis as a result of injury to their spinal cord and more than 1,000 people will be affected each year.

Jonathan Miall, chief executive of Spinal Research, said: “Spinal injuries are more common than people think, and few people realise just how close many people come to it — for every one person with a spinal cord injury, an estimated six others narrowly miss being paralysed.

“For all those affected by spinal cord injury, an online community provides a useful platform to share experiences and hear from people who have been through the same thing.

“We believe this resource will be invaluable and will sustain people through what is likely to have been a traumatic experience. We hope it will provide an ongoing source of support.”

Other celebrities joining Richard to support MySpine are jump jockey JP McNamara who broke his neck in a fall in April 2006, ex-England under 21s rugby player Matt Hampson, Norwich City footballer Dion Dublin, adventurer Bear Grylls, Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opic and snowboarder Sam Cullen.

For more information visit: www.myspine.org

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