1. Support for riders’ mental health
Equestrian coaches are being asked to raise awareness of the importance of speaking about mental health. Riders Minds, a charity founded in 2019 by the late eventer Matthew Wright and his wife Victoria, is also seeking 1,000 trainers to take part in a “coaching for change” campaign next month. Each trainer is asked to organise a training clinic, with the proceeds going to the charity. The new campaign coincides with World Mental Health Day on 10 October, and will highlight the support available through the charity’s website, text line and free confidential phone service.
Find out out how to support or benefit from this charity’s work
2. Event horse’s return from serious injury
The owner and rider of a horse who faced being put down owing to a serious fracture last year, but came back to win an eventing championship, said she “couldn’t ask for any more”. Tamsin Palmer and 10-year-old Bazaars Twister won the 90cm Saracen Horse Feeds Brigante Cup Final at Frickley Park, the culmination of an unaffiliated eventing series, on 18 September.
Read all about this horse’s incredible comeback
3. How an air ambulance saved a rider’s life
A rider who was paralysed in a cross-country accident has become a fundraiser for the air ambulance that saved her life – and has returned to the saddle. Sallyanne Haigh suffered a spinal-cord injury when her horse reared and fell on her in October 2015 and now has no movement below her first lumbar vertebrae.
“It was a horrific accident, and a long road to recovery, but I’m getting my life back together,” said Sallyanne, who credits Great Western Air Ambulance with saving her life.
Read Sallyanne’s story of the doctors who saved her
You might also be interested in:
‘Not just a bang on the head’: mental health campaign encourages riders to ‘re-think concussion’
‘Something Matt would be proud of’: Riders Minds launches new support in Mental Health Awareness Week
During 2021 Mental Health Awareness Week (10-16 May) plans for a new vital resource to help riders get more support
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