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My name is Emma Douglas and I am a Grade II Para Dressage Rider from near Inverness, Scotland and currently based in Winslow, Buckinghamshire.
I travel the length and the breadth of Great Britain competing at national and international level and I shall soon be competing abroad.
I started riding when I was 4 years old and loved it! On leaving school, I studied for two years before I was employed at a local riding centre. My main passion was eventing and I had dreams of becoming a three-day eventer.
But all this came to an end in the August of 2005.
A friend’s horse I was riding reared up and I fell off, with the horse landing on me. My lower spine was shattered and my spinal cord was badly damaged.
I had a metal rod inserted to fuse my spine back together, but I was told there was nothing they could do to repair my crushed spinal cord.
I spent 8 months in the Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow. I was unable to walk or control my legs, and even sitting down unaided was a challenge as my balance had been seriously impaired.
I have always been a very competitive person and I think my accident has made me even worse! Before I left the Spinal Unit I had already booked my first of many lessons at the Riding for Disabled Centre in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of Loch Ness.
After a year or so of two lessons a week I felt confident enough to get back on my own horse Murphy, who I evented before my accident.
I moved down south in 2013 to pursue my dream to get to the Paralympics.
I am a Grade II Para rider which requires me to perform movements to elementary level. I am only required to walk and trot in my tests. I began competing in Para Dressage in 2010. Since then I have represented Great Britain six times, competed at the National Championships three times, Winter Championships three times and British Para Dressage Championships at Gold level. And I gained my first National Title with Murphy at the Nirvana Spa Para Winter Championships in 2014, and came 3rd in 2015 with my horse Solly. I moved up to 3* International Level with Solly in 2015.
I was selected to be a part of the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Excel Talent Programme in 2013 before I moved up to the BEF World Class Programme which I was selected onto at the end of 2014 and the programme runs from 2014 – 2016. This is a National Lottery funded programme and give athletes the best chance at developing themselves into medal winners in the future.
I was given the amazing opportunity to go to Rio 2016 Paralympic games as part of the Paralympic Inspiration Programme, to learn about my sport and develop myself further as an athlete to help my lead up to Tokyo 2020. This was a money can’t buy opportunity and really showed me what it takes to be a Paralympian and also I learned a lot about myself and what I need to change/strengthen on my journey towards Tokyo.
My partnership with Solly came to an end March 2017 and I began searching for my new four legged friend, in October 2017 I was lucky enought to find Rabbit from Rebecca Cowderoy Dressage.
It would mean the world to me if you could support me in any way towards my training and competiton expenses. It costs roughly £5000 a year for me to train at home and with your help this could help me produce winning performances as training is the key to the top! And help me Rabbit on our journey....

I travel the length and the breadth of Great Britain competing at national and international level and I shall soon be competing abroad.
I started riding when I was 4 years old and loved it! On leaving school, I studied for two years before I was employed at a local riding centre. My main passion was eventing and I had dreams of becoming a three-day eventer.
But all this came to an end in the August of 2005.
A friend’s horse I was riding reared up and I fell off, with the horse landing on me. My lower spine was shattered and my spinal cord was badly damaged.
I had a metal rod inserted to fuse my spine back together, but I was told there was nothing they could do to repair my crushed spinal cord.
I spent 8 months in the Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow. I was unable to walk or control my legs, and even sitting down unaided was a challenge as my balance had been seriously impaired.
I have always been a very competitive person and I think my accident has made me even worse! Before I left the Spinal Unit I had already booked my first of many lessons at the Riding for Disabled Centre in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of Loch Ness.
After a year or so of two lessons a week I felt confident enough to get back on my own horse Murphy, who I evented before my accident.
I moved down south in 2013 to pursue my dream to get to the Paralympics.
I am a Grade II Para rider which requires me to perform movements to elementary level. I am only required to walk and trot in my tests. I began competing in Para Dressage in 2010. Since then I have represented Great Britain six times, competed at the National Championships three times, Winter Championships three times and British Para Dressage Championships at Gold level. And I gained my first National Title with Murphy at the Nirvana Spa Para Winter Championships in 2014, and came 3rd in 2015 with my horse Solly. I moved up to 3* International Level with Solly in 2015.
I was selected to be a part of the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Excel Talent Programme in 2013 before I moved up to the BEF World Class Programme which I was selected onto at the end of 2014 and the programme runs from 2014 – 2016. This is a National Lottery funded programme and give athletes the best chance at developing themselves into medal winners in the future.
I was given the amazing opportunity to go to Rio 2016 Paralympic games as part of the Paralympic Inspiration Programme, to learn about my sport and develop myself further as an athlete to help my lead up to Tokyo 2020. This was a money can’t buy opportunity and really showed me what it takes to be a Paralympian and also I learned a lot about myself and what I need to change/strengthen on my journey towards Tokyo.
My partnership with Solly came to an end March 2017 and I began searching for my new four legged friend, in October 2017 I was lucky enought to find Rabbit from Rebecca Cowderoy Dressage.
It would mean the world to me if you could support me in any way towards my training and competiton expenses. It costs roughly £5000 a year for me to train at home and with your help this could help me produce winning performances as training is the key to the top! And help me Rabbit on our journey....
Organizer
Emma Douglas
Organizer
