Disabled fundraiser praised by Paralympian Lee Pearson

The reigning world and Paralympic dressage champion Lee Pearson OBE has paid tribute to Olivia Straker for raising more than £13,000 for the Riding for the Disabled Association and Herefordshire Growing Point.

Eighteen-year-old Olivia, a niece of Karen Dixon, has a form of dwarfism, and completed an expedition from the Amazon Basin across the Andes to the Pacific Coast.

The team of 10 disabled young people was filmed for BBC’s Beyond Boundaries, and travelled only by foot, boat and horse.

Lee Pearson said: “Olivia is a true inspiration to us all. Most people about to undertake the expedition would have been focusing all their attention on preparation, but Olivia still found the time and energy to raise these phenomenal funds.

“In so-doing she has made it possible for more disabled people to strive for their dreams.”

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