Battling against the odds in bid to secure London Games place

But Gerry and her horse Blue, who coincidentally was also taken ill, have both fought back and now have their eyes set firmly on next year’s Paralympic Games.

“I honestly thought I wasn’t going to ride again,” said Gerry.

She was diagnosed as suffering from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis which caused scarring on the brain. “I wobble quite a bit. Some days are better than others,” says Gerry.

She had been showing horses up to county level but that was no longer possible. Then Gerry was encouraged to take up Para dressage and progressed to the stage where she was invited to train with the Irish Para squad. Gerry lives at Foggathorpe near Bubwith but she was born in Dublin and the family moved to England when she was seven.

Gerry recently returned from competing in the biennial Breda Paralympic Games in the Netherlands. “It was the final chance for Team Ireland to compete before Paralympic team rankings for London 2012 are decided at the end of January,” said Gerry. “We achieved a team score of 411 which put us in second place behind the host nation.”

This means Ireland has retained its sixth place and so is on course for Olympic qualification for the first time in Irish Para equestrian history.

Gerry scored 67.5 per cent in the team test, 67.25 per cent in the individual championship and 70 per cent in the freestyle and says she was pleased with her performance.

The Para riders are proving to be rather more successful than the country’s show-jumpers, who have failed to qualify a team for the Olympics. Ireland’s eventing team is currently still trying to qualify riders for London 2012. So all eyes will be on the Para riders.

Next on Gerry’s agenda is a visit to Limerick in November to attend a Paralympic Ireland camp with other athletes from disability sports. Here there will be sessions with physios, nutritionists and sports psychologists. Whilst there they will also be measured for their team uniforms for London in case they are selected.

Next year, the squad will compete in three international events in France, Belgium and Germany. These will count towards final team selection for the Paralympics. “So the pressure is on for me to keep improving my results and retain my position on the team,” said Gerry, who would welcome any sponsorship to help cover some of her costs.

As well as her problems with balance, Gerry has also had to have an operation on her hand, suffers from osteoporosis and has curvature of the spine. Her attitude is “you just get on with it” and she has a great partnership with her 11-year-old horse Blue.

She has owned her since she was six months old and had originally planned to show her. Just before Gerry was taken ill, however, Blue was also seriously ill with toxic laminitis.

Both of them survived and now have the unexpected bonus of a chance to compete in the Paralympics. “To get this near is just amazing,” said Gerry. “It’s getting a bit scary really.”

Brewer can finally raise a winning glass

OVER 200 point-to-point riders, owners, trainers and enthusiasts gathered at York racecourse for the presentation of the Yorkshire Area Point to Point Championship Awards for 2011.

The Tennants Auctioneers Gentleman’s Championship resulted in along awaited victory for Guy Brewer, who had been placed eight times before his triumph this season.

He also won the Alan Smith Award for the jockey with the most wins.

In his career, Guy has ridden a total of 109 winners and struck up winning partnerships with horses including Elizadoalott and Ask Bobby, riding for leading trainers such as Cherry Coward and Mary Sowersby.

The White Rose Saddlery Ladies Championship was won for a fifth time by Jacqueline Coward.

She ended the season with seven winners in the Yorkshire area alone.

The Cundalls Novice Championships went to Ryan Winks and Lucy Sutcliffe. Lucy struck up an excellent partnership with the family- owned and trained Nile Moon, the pair recording three successes, two of them in the Yorkshire area.

Tom Bannister took the Northern Bookmakers Protection Association Open Horse and RA Bethell Memorial Trophy for the horse with the most wins,with his horse My Old Piano.

The NBPA Novice Horse award went to Chip N Pin owned by Steven Hollins. Both horses are trained by David Easterby.

The Howard Brown Memorial Trophy for the best home-bred horse went to Terry Beadle’s Lewesdon Tom.

Owner, rider and trainer Sam Drake’s horses were on winning form this season and she won the JAG Burnell and Son leading owner trophy. The Ride of the Season award went to a very surprised Will Milburn.

He rode his first winner on Adin Abroad in the four, five, six and seven-year-old maiden race at the Bilsdale point-to-point, finishing the race powerfully to win by 10 lengths.

Huntsmen in the pink as help for heroes work is blessed

ALL the hunts in Yorkshire have been invited to take hounds along for a blessing ceremony at Welburn Manor, Kirkbymoorside tomorrow morning.

Huntsmen will wear their pink coats for the occasion which is in aid of Horses Help Heroes, which supports the charity Help for Heroes.

Between 200 and 300 people are expected to attend the blessing, some with their own dogs, as well as the hounds. The Rev Cannon Gerald Pearce from Cropton and Father Hugh Lewis-Vivas from Ampleforth will conduct the blessing.

A champagne breakfast will follow the blessing. “We are expecting a good crowd and have sold a large number of tickets. It should be quite a spectacle,” said Alice O’Neill, one of the organisers. “Kirkbymoorside silver band will be playing and we’ve got various activities including a horn blowing competition and a novelty dogs competition.”

There will also be a “distinguished judge” whose name is being kept under wraps, who will decide who is the best turned out huntsman.

During the summer, a major challenge was organised by Horses Help Heroes with the ultimate aim of raising £1 million. A team of wounded servicemen and their support crew drove a replica, horse-drawn World War One ambulance 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

They travelled for 24 hours day for 10 days, with the team splitting each day into 12 hour shifts. A full support crew travelled with them including horseboxes, grooms, farriers and vets and a team of 23 horses shared the journey. So far they have raised £150,000 and are continuing to collect funds (www.horseshelpheroes.org.uk).