I LIVE in Comber, Co Down. I come from a non-horsey family, so it was a shock to my parents when I announced I wanted a career in horses. I started riding when it became an option at school and got my first pony, aged 15 years old.

After breaking my back from a fall from a riding school pony, my father realised it hadn’t put me off, so the safer option seemed to be to have my own reliable pony.