An injured event rider is hoping to raise £5,000 to provide a safe space for ex-servicemen and women going through tough times.
Three-star eventer Carrie Byrom broke both her arms in a cross-country fall in an advanced section at Withinghton Horse Trials in April.
The horse she was riding, Davinci III, was uninjured but Carrie is facing a long recovery.
Carrie told H&H that the nine-year-old gelding misread the fence and has “never made a cross-country mistake before”.
Her fractured right elbow is healing well, but she is likely to need a third operation on her left wrist which was badly broken in the fall.
Making a positive out of a negative, Carrie has decided take her injury time to focus on launching community interest company Stable Lives, of which she is a director.
The organisation is based at her family’s riding school, Parbold Equestrian Centre, in Lancashire and its aim is to bring veterans and their families together to support each other.
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Carrie’s latest project is to raise enough money for a yurt, which would be used as a centre-point for the group’s activities.
She has challenged herself to a 24-hour fundraising ride, starting at 1pm today (Friday, 23 June) and finishing tomorrow (Saturday) to coincide with Armed Forces Day.
She has 14 horses and ponies lined up for the challenge, including some of her own, riding school ponies and horses borrowed from her students.
“It is really lovely how everyone has pulled together,” she said, adding she will have those dealing with emotional, mental and physical stress in her thoughts.
“I am under no illusion it is going to be hard and it is going to be painful.
“Twenty-four hours for me will pass and the pain will stop but for others the mental and physical pain is constant and exhausting.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
