MyHackathon helps rider get back in the saddle
After a nasty fall, it took Lex Whitby a long time to regain her confidence.
Lex with her mare Sandy
Lex Whitby’s confidence took a huge blow in 2016 when she fell off her horse, Binnie. Suffering a broken coccyx and a bruised ego, Lex struggled to even enter the field to catch her own horse.
It took months of rehabilitation (for both herself and Binnie, who had sacroiliac issues) before she was able to ride again.
“I was absolutely terrified” said Lex. “I now had no excuse not to ride and had a perfectly healthy horse. I was used to having one-hour lessons once a week, and riding most days. Now I couldn’t ride for more than five minutes unless my partner came in to the school, with me attached with a lead rope.”
After nearly a year, Lex decided Binnie would be better off with an owner who would ride him more regularly, so he moved to a new home down the road where she could still visit him.
Two years later, Lex started riding again with a new horse, Sandy. She said: “I was still massively terrified at this point. However, I was slowly but surely beginning to gain my confidence.”
...having a goal to work towards has given me an immense amount of determination and motivation to get out and ride.
This is when Lex heard about Brooke’s MyHackathon challenge, which asks riders to hack 100 miles in 100 days and raise £100.
Lex said: “I’m honest when I say that without this challenge I would have just carried on taking tiny, little baby steps, but having a goal to work towards has given me an immense amount of determination and motivation to get out and ride. With the timeframe of 100 days, I am literally counting down the days and adding up the miles.”
So far, Lex has raised £180 by riding 38.8 miles in 35 days. She said: “I have accomplished so much more than I would ever have imagined solely because MyHackathon has given me goals to aim for. Without it, I genuinely don’t know where I would be but I’m absolutely proud of myself and my mare for looking after me throughout our hacks.”