Showjumper who survived life-changing accident and cancer launches dream riding school named after horse

Sarah began exploring the idea of launching her own riding school when her promising showjumping career was thrown into jeopardy after she experienced a life-changing accident, which left her with a broken back, fractured pelvis and a dislocated shoulder.

As a result of the accident, she had one of her fingers amputated, and to make matters worse, during her recovery, Sarah was diagnosed with cancer.

Facing the very realistic prospect of never being able to ride competitively again, Sarah used her recuperation to explore ways of passing on her knowledge and experience to others. She began working towards completing her coaching qualifications, and then she spotted an opportunity to give a new lease of life to some unused farmland, which had fallen into a state of disrepair. With terms agreed with the landowner, Sarah approached Finance For Enterprise to help her secure the vital funds needed to put her plans into practice.

Working with business lending manager Jane Cusse, Sarah was able to access the financial support her business needed, and as she started taking the steps towards her recovery, she began laying the foundations for her fledgling business.

Today, Sarah regularly finds herself back in the saddle, and after successfully entering three shows and securing three wins, she decided to name her new horse-riding school in honour of her horse, Avalon Mill.

Together, both Sarah and Avalon Mill have gone from strength to strength.

The duo finished top of the table in last summer's British national para showjumping league and have also represented Great Britain and British Showjumping on a number of occasions. Sarah was invited to compete against able-bodied riders in Munich, going on to finish in place overall. A year later Sarah and Avalon followed up their success in Bon Heiden, Belgium, where she went one step better to secure first place.

Although para showjumping is not currently an internationally recognised Paralympic event, Sarah still dreams of representing her country at the Olympic Games and is currently considering whether to compete in dressage events.

Sarah said: “I’ve been horse riding for nearly as long as I could walk, but despite the injuries I experienced, it never crossed my mind to give up, and I could never have imagined a future where horses didn’t play a part in my life. I would regularly ride past the land I’d identified and felt it would make a great place for a riding school, so I decided to approach the landowner.

To my surprise, she listened to me and eventually agreed to let me use the land. I realised that to achieve what I wanted, I would need to raise additional funds, and when she allowed me to buy the land from her, I decided to approach Finance For Enterprise to help fund the improvements I wanted to make."