Blog: “Horse riding is an incredible therapy for me”
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday. This year, we'll be sharing the experiences of disabled people involved in sport and exercise at all levels, finding out what impact being active has on their lives. Today, Max Stainton tells us how horse riding is an incredible therapy for him and how he is planning to trek to Everest Base Camp on horseback.
I’m Max, I’m 27 years old, I horse ride and I have cerebral palsy. I require 24 hour care and use a wheelchair to get around.
I ride once a week with the Hyde Park Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) group in London. I am also currently attending regular endurance riding weekends with my friends in Leicestershire, in preparation for my big trek to Everest Base Camp in April in aid of the RDA. I’m aiming to be the first person with cerebral palsy to attempt this trek on horseback!
I started riding horses when I was five years old. My mum was hunting for things to do with me and found out about RDA in the local newspaper. She signed me up immediately and the rest is history.
Due to me using a wheelchair most of the time, it can be hard to stay active. What I enjoy about horse riding is that it is a sport that I love. I’m able to be really competitive and get my heart rate up at the same time.
As well as providing me with a great sport and social circle, riding is first and foremost an incredible therapy for me. It stretches out my inner thigh muscles- which can give me a lot of trouble. Stretching them out allows me to do some walking, and makes a lot of my everyday care a lot easier too.
In my daily life I’m constantly at a lower vantage point than everyone else, as I’m sitting in my wheelchair. When I’m on the horse, suddenly everyone else has to look up at me. That’s a great feeling, and one that is often overlooked. Plus, being in charge of a big, powerful animal that will listen to what I tell it to do, gives me a real confidence boost.
Without my friends, family, carers and the RDA volunteers, there’s no way I would be able to ride. Their support means a lot to me. I’m hugely grateful to all of them for helping me to access this amazing equestrian world. This is one of the main reasons I’m trekking to Everest in April – to give back to those who have helped me.
My main focus for this year is getting to Everest Base Camp on horseback. I’ll be riding a sturdy Nepalese pony and riding for up to six hours a day for ten days. As well as riding, I’ve been training by walking with my physiotherapist up and down the seven flights of stairs in my building. There will be some parts of the trek where I’ll have to dismount and walk with the help of two Sherpas. That’s going to be pretty gruelling and so there’s lots of training to be done for that too.
My advice to other disabled people who are thinking about being more active but not too sure is to just go for it. Riding has been massively important to me for so many reasons, but whatever sport you try, there will be a massive community of people who will want to support you and help you to achieve your potential. Maybe you’ll have to try a few before you find the one, but it’ll be worth it in the end.
