A horse stood on glass and suffered a puncture wound during his rider’s quest to #Hack1000Miles.
Juno, a German warmblood, carried professional dog walker Amy Littlewood across the finish line exactly 363 days after starting.
“He stood on some glass while out hacking, and had to have a month off,” said Amy.
“It was hard to get motivated after that, as I thought our challenge was over, but once I added everything up I realised we still had a chance, and that gave me the boost that I needed.”
“He’s my first horse, and he’s taught me a lot,” added Amy of the horse she has owned for six years.
“We signed up for the challenge as we mostly hack, so it seemed perfect for us.
“As I don’t compete, I liked the idea of having something to aim for,” continued Amy.
“Having 1,000 miles as a goal definitely gave me that extra push to explore new areas and ride that bit further.”
A frightening moment
Amy said that one of the most difficult stages of the challenge was after her mum Caroline fell off her own mare Cherry.
“We were on our usual hack and were cantering, but suddenly Cherry slipped and they both went down,” said Amy.
“We knew mum had hurt her arm straight away. It wasn’t until later that we found out that not only was it broken, but she’d also dislocated her shoulder too.”
Amy led both horses to a car park, from where her mum was collected, and then she rode and led the pair home.
“I’d never done that before so I didn’t know how the horses would find it, but luckily they were fine,” said Amy.
”They normally get along well, and Juno is very chilled and doesn’t mind when horses are close, so it worked well.
“Mum ended up having to have an operation and a plate put in her wrist, and Cherry had a swollen eye, but both are now fine. We are all back out hacking together.”
Amy’s advice to fellow hacking lovers is to “just keep going.
“Even if you have setbacks, you can still do it,” she enthused.
”I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but then I did. Even if you only do short hacks, they all add up in the end.”
