SUZANNA Hext is heading off to Gothenburg, Sweden later this month for the European Para-Equestrian Dressage Championships and she couldn’t be more excited.

The 28-year-old from Cirencester is ploughing ahead in her field, after she won a place on the Lottery-funded Equestrian World Class Programme at the end of last year.

Her achievements are even more remarkable in light of her life-changing riding accident five years ago, which looked like it would be the death knell of her international sporting career.

On July 26, 2012, Suzanna was breaking in a young horse when she was thrown off, landing under the crushing weight of her steed. 

“He then rolled off and back onto me again, just to add insult to injury,” she explained.

Suzanna’s back, pelvis and shoulder all sustained serious damage, leading to around 170 days in hospital and nine operations with a lot of complications. 

Her vision is permanently impaired and Vestibular disorder still affects her balance. 

She remains partially paralysed from the waist down, after clawing back the ability to use crutches rather than her wheelchair for shorter distances.

After such a traumatic experience it would be more than understandable if Suzanna never wanted to see a horse again, let alone ride competitively. But Suzanna was having none of that.

“When I first said in hospital that I wanted to get back on a horse, my doctors and family didn’t say anything,” Suzanna said.

The initial silence perhaps expressed a reluctance to explain that it may never be possible. But this soon turned into outright opposition, with a surgeon telling her that it was a terrible idea. 

The incident reminded her of a similar lecture she received when she broke her pelvis in another accident at 13-years-old.

“I wasn’t going to listen then either,” Suzanna said.

“I was a pretty determined person before, but I’m even more so now.

“It was the thought of getting back in the saddle that kept me going.”

After her accident, Suzanna moved back in with her parents in Cornwall and began to see an inspirational neurological physiotherapist, Gemma Berry, who got behind her cause. 

Suzanna would arrive at therapy with her saddle in her lap and do her exercises on it.

“Everyone thought we were completely bonkers,” she said.

But Gemma’s belief in her ability to ride again meant the world to Suzanna.

Thirsting to get back to training, two years after her accident Suzanna returned to Pammy Hutton of Talland School of Equitation in Ampney Knowle, who had coached her since she was 12. 

Suzanna was again overwhelmed by the help and support she received, particularly facing certain things she is still unable to do, such as drive a horse trailer.

She is quick to gush about all the people who have been integral to her journey, from Gemma and Pammy, to her friends and family, and her previous workplace B & W Vets who welcomed her back into a new role. 

B & W Vets continue to sponsor her even after she left the company in March to make the most of the World Class Programme.

“I’ve got really good sponsors who have got behind my journey. I couldn’t do it without them – it’s impossible,” Suzanna said.

Although she faced significant new challenges, Suzanna found that Para Dressage still included what she loved most about the sport.

“It’s about the same incredible partnership with the horse, even more so now,” she explained.

“As I can’t use my legs, the horse has to learn to react more to my voice.

“They understand when you’re not feeling right. It’s an even stronger bond.”

Today, Suzanna glows with positivity, but she is also honest about the dark times she once faced.

“At first I just thought I’d never get my life back again.

“The journey has been far from easy, that’s for sure. But the battle’s been worth it. 

“To get back to where I am today, it just feels amazing,” she said.

And now that she’s off to the European Championships and she’s part of team GB, a dream opportunity she didn’t get to experience before her accident, nothing can keep her down.

“I’m still pinching myself,” Suzanna said.

While she is already living out her dreams, she has one eye set on future heights, with the World Championships next year in America and her ultimate goal of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“To Tokyo and beyond,” she gleefully exclaimed.

And even from a short conversation, it is clear how she captures the hearts and minds of everyone she meets along the way; a group who will eagerly follow her journey and cheer her all the way.

Suzanna will be riding horse Abira, owned by Pammy and Charlie Hutton for the European Para-Equestrian Dressage Championships in Gothenburg between August 22 and 27.