Yahoo Lifestyle 'My horse saved me after I lost my sight'
A woman says her horse saved her when she didn't want to leave the house after losing sight.
Lesley Sayers was registered as blind more than a decade ago, knocking her confidence around horses - her main passion.
But with the help of her first guide dog in 2015 and support from her family, Lesley gained the confidence to ride again.
Now, she and former racehorse Second Brook - or Seb as he's now called - have been named as finalists for an award centred around retraining racehorses.
"It broke my heart because I thought I couldn't do what I used to do. I wouldn't go out of the house," said Lesley, 40.
"Unless I was with my mum or my dad, I didn't want to come out of the house because the world is a big scary place when you can see, let alone when you can't."
In September 2015, Lesley got her first guide dog. She says this and support from her family gave her the confidence to ride again.
"Within six months of having him, we were out everyday," Lesley said.
"I was starting to do things that I enjoyed. I was going to see my other ponies regularly and I said to my mum, right, I want a new challenge. I want to start riding again."
Lesley's mother Wendy, who's also a keen horse rider, says Seb has helped Lesley "navigate being in the dark".
"He is her true soulmate. He looks after her 100%... They're an amazing partnership," she said.
Lesley added: "Mum will say to me, 'Lesley, there's a driveway in front of you, about 100 yards up the road', as we're walking down the road, he's looking for it.
"I can feel him looking for it. He will pull me into it, he will stop, and he will wait until the traffic's gone.
"If I'm having a bad day and I'm feeling emotional, I can come up, I can sit in the corner of his stable and he'll bury his head in my lap or he'll just put his head over my shoulder and pull me in for a cuddle.
"I can just cry into his neck for as long as I need to."
'One in a million'
Seb is a finalist for horse of the year at the Retraining of Racehorses awards, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The former racehorse has been recognised after being crowned Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Dressage champion and demonstrating versatility since retiring from racing in 2014, with blind owner Lesley.
Lesley, who relies solely on Seb's vision when competing, said: "He's my best friend.
"He saved me and I'm there for him. He's calm, he can be spicy, but he's just the best."
Pembrokeshire-based racehorse Up For An Oscar and Samantha Ivy Barton, 19, have been named as finalists for the community impact award at the ceremony, which takes place on 25 January at Cheltenham Racecourse.
They've been recognised for their work at Redberth Croft CIC, a company dedicated to supporting veterans, people with additional learning needs and other vulnerable groups in west Wales.
In early 2024, Samantha, endured homelessness following a dispute with her family.
She then moved to live at her place of work, Redberth Croft CIC.
"If it weren't for this place, I don't know where I'd be," said Samantha, who's worked there for years.
"I dropped out of school, I had nowhere to go, nothing to do and I just wanted to follow my dream of horses.
"Being someone who wasn't a horsey person when I started off, it was really difficult, but this place has shown me, no matter who you are, you really can do anything."
Now a farm manager, Samantha says she found renewed purpose in her work with Up For An Oscar, now known as Ozzy.
"He's quite a big horse so we started with the basics," she said.
"He taught me what I was doing and I taught him what he was doing.
"We kind of just worked together on our own confidence."
They both now mentor young people in the community.
"We start them off small with a little pony, get used to it, get confident and then slowly do stuff like coming in with me, grooming the pony, giving him some fuss and love and attention, changing rugs, taking them places, taking them for walks," Samantha said.
"Just working their confidence up to work with big animals, because it can be really, really difficult."
Amelie, 13, who's being mentored by Samantha, said: "They've worked really, really hard to get where they are now. They've both been through quite a lot so I think they both really deserve this award.
"She's helped me out a lot and given me the chance to be around bigger horses that I can help out with and I'm really glad that I've met them both."
