Emily Skerrett, 33 from Bude in Cornwall, is a talented disabled horse rider who has been selected to represent Great Britain in Para-equestrian dressage and will now be able to perform even better thanks to the support of TGA and a folding Maximo mobility scooter.



Emily has been riding since the age of 4. She was originally born in Cheltenham however moved to Cornwall in 2011 to be nearer grandparents as she lives with disability and has two small children. Emily has ''Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) - a group of rare inherited conditions that affect connective tissue and also has a total wrist and hand fusion, dysautonomia and movement disorder. This results in a variety of mobility difficulties that means Emily needs crutches to walk and hence caring for her horses is a challenge. Pre-competition and day-to-day activity can sap her strength when in the stable yard, tacking up or accessing event show grounds, resulting in less energy to perform in the arena.

Despite these difficulties Emily has achieved many remarkable results in Para-dressage and also regularly competes against able-bodied riders. She has managed to fight back from severe illness following her pregnancies when she was unable to ride and did consider giving up equestrian sports altogether. Dressage is a highly skilled form of riding where horse and rider are judged on their ability to accurately complete a series of predetermined movements. Para- dressage is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dressage, but with riders divided into different competition grades based on their functional abilities.

Now with Emily's recent selection to represent Great Britain, TGA has decided to sponsor her with a loaned Maximo mobility scooter so she can Read more....