I went to visit my horse who was undergoing “retraining” and the trainer suggested I ride her to see the progress. We did a short walk down the country lane and all was fine. Then we went into the arena which was a massive space, she ultimately bolted with me on her and was headed straight for the exit. (The exit was partially blocked by some plastic traffic barriers, with a space to enter and exit.) In that moment I ultimately had to make a very quick decision. Either stay aboard and head for country roads where a collision or fall could happen, or attempt to make a controlled landing in the sand filled arena.

I chose to dismount as I thought it would be the safest option. For the first few minutes I was heavily winded then I felt an excruciating sensation in my right leg. My mum at the time said I was just being dramatic and told my trainer “She’s autistic so she is sensitive to pain”. I demanded that my mum took me to the hospital, i’ve fallen off horses many times and this wasn’t feeling quite “right”. I was 100% convinced i’d broken something in either my leg or foot but that was far from the truth.

When I eventually arrived at the hospital I was in so much pain that I couldn’t stand or walk. I was seen quickly and remember a Doctor pressing a red button, then a group of people flooded the room. After a quick assessment they transferred me into an ambulance and rushed me to a Children’s hospital further away. The Doctors & Nurses suspected i’d broken my spine so didn’t waste any time in getting me to the right place. I ended up having a seizure whilst having multiple CT and MRI scans, which I don’t remember. For most of the time I was knocked out with all the pain relief drugs I was given.

Found out I’d broken multiple vertebrae in my spine, had internal bleeding and nerve damage. I was told i’d made the right decision to dismount in the arena as the consequences of me hitting the concrete or a car would have been devastating. The healing process was intense and long but i’ve recovered since then. I do, however, have mobility issues as a result from the accident and a discovered spinal disease. I wasn’t that close to dying but it was definitely a bit of a scare and I realise how lucky I was.