A YOUNG aspiring Droitwich horse rider with cerebral palsy is desperate for help to fulfill her lifelong dream of entering the 2020 Paralympics.
Ashleigh Jones from Daneswood Dressage in Ombersley, needs £20,000 to buy a new horse so she can continue to compete internationally and increase her chances of making it to Tokyo.
The 20-year-old’s condition means she suffers with partial paralysis on the entire right side of her body which means it does not function as it should. At seven years old she started riding as a form of physiotherapy and was told she would never be able to ride properly but at 12 years old she defeated the odds and started to ride competitively having adapted to training one-handed.
She said: “It would mean absolutely everything to me to get to the Paralympics. Riding is my whole life. I’ve had to sacrifice a lot. I have no social life at all but I don’t mind making those sacrifices because it makes me happy and it is what I want to do.
“If I can do this it will just go a long way to prove all those people who said I couldn’t do it were wrong.”
Ashleigh has to undergo painful treatments and gruelling hours at the gym to keep her fighting fit to compete. A process which proves very expensive.”
Her mum Yvonne, said: “It is a shame that sometimes in these competitions the winners aren’t always the most talented but the ones who have the most money.
“Some of these competitors pay £40,000 to £50,000 for a horse which we can’t afford.
“A lot of people do not realise these athletes are training now even though the Paralympics is still four years away.
“If it was to stop her from doing it, it would just be such a shame.”
Ashleigh is hoping to get businesses to sponsor her but welcomes any generous donations that could help her get to Tokyo in 2020.
For more information visit www.ashleighjonesparadressage.co.uk or to donate, go to her JustGiving page at https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/AshleighJonesParaDressage
