Steph Quintrell
Prior to July 2019 I was an able bodied, full time working Mum to a very energetic 2-year-old boy and spent my spare time in the saddle riding my beautiful Welsh section D mare, Bubba. But in 2019, mine and my families’ lives were turned upside down when I became suddenly very unwell and was subsequently diagnosed with a complex neurological condition. I became fully dependant on a wheelchair, completely lost the use in my right-hand fingers and lost partial use in my wrist as well, started have seizures and began what would turn out to be an ongoing battle managing my many other debilitating symptoms. Initially I had to stop riding all together, due to the fact I was unable to even hold my own weight up in my chair, let along keep myself upright in the saddle. However, I always knew that sometime and somehow, I would ride again. In the meantime, I spent my time just sitting with my beautiful Bubba and cheeky miniature pony Loki, in their stables and enjoyed that feeling of being there with them. A matter of months after I became unwell was when I met Maggie from Wow saddles and we instantly connected as I told her my story and shared my desire to ride again. From this meeting on, we knew that getting me back in the saddle meant I needed to be getting back in the perfect saddle, perfect for both me and Bubba. Fast forward a couple of years and with the help of my incredibly supportive, and (luckily) physically strong husband Jon, I achieved my dream and started riding again. It felt like a long and slow process of me building strength and both Bubba and me relearning how to ride with the way my body had become, but 4 years on and we are now out regularly cross country jumping, long distance hacking and generally just loving the freedom that riding has given me back. I genuinely believe having a saddle made to measure, with support for me in exactly the right places, that fits Bubba perfectly, and having the ability to adjust the saddle as and when we need to, has played a big part in my journey to not only get back in the saddle, but to get to the point I am at today and to achieve what I have so far. Bubba and I have the most special partnership, with total trust in each other and just the right amount of sassy attitude to keep the spark there when we are out having fun, and we have our sights set on even more for the future. My long-term dream is to successfully compete in para show jumping and at least we will most definitely look the part in my beautiful saddle, complete with crystals and patterned leather that I of course needed to have.