‘It absolutely broke me’: but young showjumper told she’d never ride again wins national title – with £500 New Forest pony
A young rider who won a national showjumping title weeks after she was told she might never walk again, with a £500 New Forest pony, hopes her story will show what can be possible, “with belief and determination”.
Demi Bowler and her own Elmo, whom she described as her “best friend and the pony who made everything possible” were crowned 90cm champions at the Cricklands Champions of Great Britain show at the David Broome Event Centre in August.
Demi told H&H it was the goal of entering the championship that had kept her going through the “dark days” she spent injured, after Elmo spooked while she was leading him in June, landing between her heel and ankle.
“My mum worried it wouldn’t be possible, but determination won,” she said.
Demi, 20, had had lessons from childhood at a riding school, which bought Elmo for lessons a few years ago.
“To cut a long story short, he wasn’t suitable; he used to just buck!” she said. “My mum actually fell in love with him but to be honest, I didn’t like the look of him when I first saw him.
“He was just a bit of a mess, he was gelded late, and tethered for quite a while, so he was all in front and he just needed a lot of TLC. But I love to jump, and he loved it as well.
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“I soon figured out that he was as wild as me. Then my riding instructor offered him to me for £500; we couldn’t afford any more than that.”
Demi said that at first, Elmo would stop at “spooky” jumps as he lacked confidence. So she found everything she could to make jumps out of at home, and they built trust in each other.
“He was never meant to stay long term, but I couldn’t bring myself to part with him,” she said. “I really wanted a horse and he’s a pony but I fell in love with him, and he’s got a home for life.”
The pair had great success in the showjumping ring together but “this year, everything changed,” Demi said.
“I was leading Elmo in, like I do every day, and he just jumped at something and hit the back of my right foot, between the heel and ankle on the Achilles,” she said.
“It hurt quite a bit and I carried on but it was getting worse. I ended up in A&E – and was in hospital for three days.”
Demi said she had damaged her Achilles but the main issue was that the impact had ruptured major nerves.
“I’ve never had pain like it,” she said. “My foot was stuck, with my heel raised, so they knocked me out to try to stretch it back out but it soon stuck back up. It took them a while because of the swelling, and an infection, so it took them a while to find out what had happened. I couldn’t even use the toilet without help.”
Demi was told she might never walk properly again, and certainly that she would not ride at her previous level.
Dark days
“It absolutely broke me,” she said. “I’d never really suffered mentally, but horses are my life; I spend 90% of my time with my horses, I live and breathe it.
“I was in quite a dark place. Luckily I had Mum but it was the fact that something so silly had done so much.”
Demi was at home for a few weeks, not allowed to go to the yard as “Mum knew I’d do something I shouldn’t!”
“The physical pain was difficult but the mental struggle was even harder,” she said. “I went from riding daily to spending weeks barely able to stand or use the bathroom without help. I felt useless.
“But in those quiet, frustrating moments on the sofa, something changed: I decided I would get back on.”
Thanks to intensive physiotherapy and effort, she regained some movement in her right leg, and became more able to move about at home.
“I realised no one was going to stop me from getting back on,” she said. “Whether it took a day or a year, I was going to get back to where I was.”
Demi explained that her foot was numb, but also, her heel was still stuck in a higher position than it should have been. She wore a medical boot and on hospital visits, this was adjusted to try to persuade the heel back into position. And she had already entered the championships, so the show became something to aim for.
“We’d entered in March – we always go every year – and Mum said we had to cancel but I said I was going to make it. My brain told me I needed to be there, so I had to work, and I had to get back on, and I had that to look forward to.
“About eight weeks in, my heel was about midway down. Walking was still a struggle but with crutches, it was much easier.”
Four weeks before the championship, with a numb right foot, Demi was back on board.
“It felt unreal,” she said. “Every ride was slow, careful, and frustrating. But I promised myself I would be at that championship. And once I knew I could get back on and Elmo was fine, that was it.”
Demi finally jumped again, her right foot still numb, and three days later, she returned to competition at the championship – and won by about 10 seconds.
“He was fresh and my leg was numb but somehow we made it work,” she said. “Driving there, I thought it might not go well as if Elmo lacked confidence, I wouldn’t have the strength in my legs to back him up.
“But he jumped amazing. Mum shouted at me when I came out saying I’d been a bit extreme and should have gone steady, but we went clear!
“Then, on the Sunday, they did the presentations and I didn’t know I’d won the leading rider award but they called out my name and I went up with Mr Broome – I cried. It was like a weight had been taken away; to be told you’re never going to ride again, maybe not even walk again, and then to go out and prove myself – and Elmo, because was honest enough to take me round – it was just unbelievable.”
Demi said she still has complete numbness in her lower leg but her thigh is stronger, and she is still undergoing intensive physio in hope of improvement. She is still competing, and hopes to register with British Showjumping.
“I don’t want to highlight my success but I think in the horse world, there are so many little or massive setbacks, injuries and moments where giving up feels easier than fighting on,” she said. “So if one person reads my story and thinks ‘Wow, I can do it too’, that would mean the world to me.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.