Steph has ridden and owned her own horses for over 20 years, and became a para-equestrian in 2019 when she became suddenly unwell and lost her mobility within 48 hours of becoming ill. She would then go on to lose all use in the fingers on her right hand and started to live with many other debilitating symptoms, all of which was due to the neurological condition she has.
Steph loves adventures with her Welsh Section D mare Bubba and often takes her cross country schooling. She also has a rather cheeky and very cute miniature shetland called Loki.
In June 2023 Steph became the world’s first wheelchair user to ride across the Pyrenees mountains from France to Spain, using the WW2 freedom trails, in an expedition called Ride to Freedom. Steph is aiming for another world’s first in February 2026, when alongside a team of 5, she will horse ride the across the Andes from Argentina to Chile, following the same trails that were use by the Liberation army in 1817 to liberate Chile from the Spanish monarchy. This next expedition also forms part of the start up of the new not-for-profit Steph and her husband Jon have set up, called Equine Para-adventures CIC.