Saffron Cresswell was a promising eventer on a path towards the Olympics until a fall left her paralysed at the age of 23, ending her riding career and the horse business she had run since she was 15. The article follows her return home after four months in hospital, and how she turned to canoeing to rebuild a sense of purpose and structure in her life.

Cresswell's family had made huge sacrifices for her riding career, including selling their house and living in caravans for six years to fund a yard, so the accident affected the whole family and forced them to diversify their business. Remarkably, within eight months of first sitting in a canoe, she was on course for a World Championships, and while she now coaches riding rather than competing herself, she says she has no intention of returning to horseback.