BLINDED BY A HORSE KICK... NOW I PLAN TO BECOME A PARALYMPIAN

Despite suffering a catastrophic, life-changing injury just three weeks ago, rider and trainer Catherine Robinson is already full of hope for her future

- ANDREA BUSFIELD

WHEN Catherine Robinson set up her own horse training school two years ago, she fulfilled a long-held dream built on hard work, trust, and instinct all qualities that define her relationship with her equine charges.

Having left school aged 16 to work in a racing yard near Belfast, she had been obsessed with horses for half her life. Now, she was building a rewarding and commercial career in the world she adored, with the animals she loved. Her future seemed full and enriching.

But just three weeks ago, in the literal blink of an eye, the 34-year-old’s life as she knew it changed irrevocably. During an ordinary day at work, she suffered catastrophic damage to her face when a three-year-old gelding kicked her below the visor of her riding helmet.

The horse's unexpected strike shattered her nose and both eye sockets. In an instant, she was blinded.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express about her life-changing experience, Catherine says: “Both my eye sockets, cheekbone and nose were shattered - my face resembled a crumpled bag of crisps”

Surgeons at Coventry Hospital reconstructed her face, but eye specialists have since told her she will never regain her vision.

The news would have devastated many people, but not Catherine.

Even though she faces months of surgeries and rehabilitation, she is already looking to the future with renewed positivity.

Her new dream?

To compete at the Paralympics. It's a show of incredible bravery and determination.

Until the accident on October 27, Catherine had been running her own business breaking and backing young horses - teaching a horse to wear tack and to carry someone on their back.

It is one of the most dangerous and highly skilled branches of the equestrian world.