Injured show jumper takes up desert challenge

Former international show jumper Maureen Holden has raised £2,000 for equine charities by riding 100 miles across the desert in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia.

But Maureen’s biggest challenge started before the ride getting back to fitness after a riding accident which smashed her leg and left her wondering if she would get on a horse again.

“I needed an impetus and the ride gave it to me,” explained Maureen, from Bungay, Suffolk.

After surgery and months of recuperation she started riding again, only to have another setback when a young horse knocked her against the wall of her school, damaging her ankle.

The determination that took Maureen and her top horse Mr Vee to so many successes helped her carry on.

She joined 37 other riders and a team of Bedouin guides to ride to the ancient city of Petra, Jordan.

Sponsorship brought in £2,000 for the Brooke Hospital for Animals and the British Horse Society rehabilitation centre in Warwickshire.

“Everyone has something that matters to them,” she says. “But horses have given me such an amazing life that it was the right thing for me.

“I’ve already put my name down for another ride to raise money for the BHS centre, this time in Iceland.”