News

A Plea from Mari Akhurst…

Posted on
A Plea from Mari

End of World Class…..end of my funding……end of an era……please help if you can……A plea from Mari Akhurst

How do I write this? I was selected onto the World Class Programme on 1st January 2020 after being selected for the European Para Dressage Championships and contributing to the team winning a silver medal and becoming a European Silver Medallist.

After two years I have not been renominated back on to the Programme sadly and so as from the end of this month I lose all my funding. This is extremely hard as I have worked really hard and done everything asked of me. Sadly the squad did not like Bear and so when Sky retired we found Damo but we just didn’t have long enough to build a strong enough CV!

I have also lost access to Bisham (The National Sports Centre) where I have been having weekly Physiotherapy and Strength and Conditioning sessions. If I am honest, I am not sure how I am going to cope without the weekly Physiotherapy sessions, but I am very lucky to be sponsored by a sports massage therapist Lee and so will still be able to have sport massages. Caryl and the team at Bisham have been an outstanding help especially when I lost the use of my left arm; they saw me twice a week and did all they could to ease the pain and to try and help me to get the movement back, a year later and all that hard work paid off and I cannot thank them all enough. I cried today leaving Bisham for the last time.

I am not in a position to be able to get a job as it’s just not realistic and my memory has deteriorated massively which means working again is not a possibility. Therefore I am seeking funding to enable me to keep training, competing and campaigning. If anyone would like to help however small please get in contact with me or if anyone has any ideas then please contact me again.

I am a public speaker and available for bookings. I am a European Silver Medalist striving towards selection for the Paris 2024 Paralympics!! I am a multi sport athlete having recently taken up Para Rowing alongside my Para Dressage. In my first proper event the British Indoor Rowing Championships I won gold in my section  Hear about my journey in Para Dressage from therapy to podium and my new Para Rowing adventure . Be inspired by my incredible journey and learn about what I can see happening in the future .

If you need a speaker at an event please do not hesitate to contact me (through my website or on my social media pages) if you would like to book or have any questions. Due to the current situation I am happy to deliver talks through online platforms such as zoom as well as in person. Please do not hesitate to contact me either to book or if you have any questions

I am waiting to get classified for British Rowing and then hope to be competing potentially representing GB. Its an amazing new adventure and after some serious hard work. I am now training six times a week doing a mixture of different sessions: such as 3 times weights, 2 times cross training Hand Bike, 2 times swimming, mobs and stretches, Standing Frame, and 3 times erging and of course my riding.

Doing adapted pull ups was something that I never thought I would be able to do, but nothing is impossible with determination you can make it possible! However you also have to be realistic and appreciate that I am living with a neurological condition and do still have an impairment in all four limbs; my legs don’t work anymore and my trunk is impaired.

So who knows what the future holds but with Paris fast approaching why not give it a shot in two sports!!

(Mari Durward Akhurst – Para Dressage Rider and Rower)

A Plea From Mari

DBF Note…

Mari Durward Akhurst is the most courageous and determined person imaginable. She was born with cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs, which has left her weaker down her left side. As a result of her CP, her co-ordination, balance and muscle tone are all affected. Sadly Mari’s condition has deteriorated but, rather than give up on her dream to compete for her country in Para Dressage, she – typically – upped the ante and trained even harder. In addition to the already gruelling physical training she was doing to improve her core strength, which is so important in horse riding anyway but more so if you have one-sided weakness for any reason, she took up rowing as an exercise. And found that she has an aptitude for that too! As a result, she is now pushing her body to its limits by training for both sports. This takes determination and sheer guts in the extreme; Mari is a true fighter.

Unfortunately, this admirable fighting spirit is now having to come to the fore in yet another way as you will have learned from A Plea From Mari Akhurst above. With her funding coming to an end imminently, all the years of work she has put in to getting to the top of her sport are at risk. Horse sports are expensive, especially when you’re maintaining a top level horse in competition fitness. It would, I believe, be an absolute tragedy if Mari had to give up the sport she loves, with the animals who have been her passion since realising her aptitude for riding while at school. School can be difficult and painful for people with disabilities and for Mari it was no different. What a joy for her to discover

Horses are my legs and together we excel… Mari Durward Akhurst

We first met Mari when she applied for a Bader Grant in 2017 and recognised immediately her extraordinary courage and commitment. We’ve shared her journey since then and watched with awe as she’s climbed the ranks in Para Dressage to being selected for the World Class Programme. She epitomises the Bader Spirit and we were honoured and delighted when she agreed to become a DBF Ambassador in 2018. She has continually fought to succeed and, never content to rest on her successes, finds new ways to challenge herself and her disabilities. Hence her venture into Motivational Speaking where her battle to succeed despite her condition is an inspiration in itself, and now into Rowing where again she will strive to get to the top.

It is desperately sad that the World Class Programme seemingly failed to see the huge progress she was making with her young horse, Bear, after Sky retired following his illustrious partnership with Mari, and have ceased to fund her. After much training and working together to build the rapport necessary to be a successful team, she is now doing wonderfully well with her new horse, Damo. Sadly, however, not in time to meet the criteria for the funding allocation.

A plea from Mari Akhurst would only come about in very exceptional circumstances. Please help Mari if you can, she really couldn’t have done more or pushed herself harder to create her own funding and make her own way. You can support her by booking her to deliver one of her motivational speeches or simply by donating to her forthcoming Fundraising Page. It would be wonderful if she could win the gold medal she’s been striving for for so long with, or without, the World Class Programme. The Mari/Damo partnership undoubtedly has the ability as you will see from the following post. Wouldn’t it be satisfying to be able to say that you helped someone so deserving on their way to becoming a champion…?

Mari is currently working on a new fundraising page and I’ll include details of this with the next, very uplifting, post! You can also contact Mari direct via her Facebook Page if you’d like to help.

Watch this space!

Links: (will open in new tabs)