It was Saturday, January 5, and her trail hunting day began with a meet at Bolton Hall, near Leyburn.

"I was on gate shutting duty with my best friend Lizzie Richmond, it was close to the end of the day, 3pm and we had just checked with our field master Warwick Bailey that it was okay to leave," recalls Jo, a 30-year-old surveyor from Harrogate.

"The going was good and we were just approaching a hunt fence and that's the last thing I remember.

"I would love to say it was more complicated, but it was a straightforward fence which should have been no problem with my eventer that I had taken to advanced level the previous season. Everybody waited for me to get up and go fetch my horse; they quickly realised I was not moving."

Two friends took care of Jo on the ground while they waited for the air ambulance to arrive; like many such incidents it was in a remote location. She was airlifted to Middlesbrough Hospital with suspected back and head injuries.

"I spent the next three weeks recovering from damage to my kidneys and broken vertebrae."

It was while lying in her hospital bed that Jo realised that if it had been somebody else on the floor and they needed support while waiting for medical help, she would not have known what to do, as she had never done any first aid training.

"Having spoken to so many people about this, I realised I was not the only one. Horse riders are often in countryside locations and medical assistance takes time to get to you at the scene of an accident."

Jo decided that she wanted to do something to educate her fellow riders, and enlisted the help of the Great North Air Ambulance Service, who had aided her. She has worked with their training team to put together a programme that is specifically tailored to horse riding incidents so it will suit anybody who is involved with horses or riders.

"So often we rely on friends and family to help so it is equally important to them. It is important for all levels of riders, from those who take lessons and hacks on stables horses and horse owners," says Jo. The charity training event takes place on April 14 at the Yorkshire Hotel in Harrogate, by which time Jo hopes to be riding again.

All money raised from the event will go to the Great North Air Ambulance but, above all, Jo wants to give people the skills to
help others.

"We should take it upon ourselves to be in a position to help somebody if we needed to. I am hoping this may just make people think and commit to spending one evening learning the basics so that they could help in an emergency – and no longer leave it to chance that when somebody does fall off that somebody else knows what to do. It's not a heavy event, there are no tests, we are hoping to have fun and, hopefully, learn something in the process.

"I was very fortunate that all my injuries will heal and I am grateful to everyone who helped me."

She still has to take things easy as her broken back heals enough to enable her to undergo physiotherapy. She started driving again two weeks ago, which has given her back some independence and she is looking forward to getting back in the saddle, although she is a
little apprehensive.

"I still have no memory of just before the accident and I won't know exactly how I will feel until I am back on my horses. It has been a tricky start to the year, but now things are on the up."

If the event is a success, Jo hopes to hold another one later in the year.

The First Aid Training for Horse Riders takes place on Monday, April 14 from 6.30pm to 9.30pm at The Yorkshire Hotel, Harrogate. Places must be reserved, call/text 07770 994222 or email ridersfirstaid@aol.co.
uk, with your name, contact number and the number of places you want.
Website: www.firstaidforhorseriders.co.uk