AN amateur rider, who was chosen to compete in a charity horse race at York Racecourse, completed the course on crutches after sustaining an injury. 

Morgan Prescott, 27, from Temple Sowerby near Penrith, was due to join 10 other amateur riders from across the UK and race thoroughbred horses on York’s iconic racecourse as part of Macmillan’s ‘Ride of Their Lives’.

However, she unfortunately had a fall on the gallops in training and was taken by air ambulance to hospital and spent 36 hours in A&E.

She sustained a broken hip, bruising to her lung and kidney, sprained thumbs and shoulder ligament damage and spent four days in Cumberland Infirmary – just three weeks before the race.

As a result she was unable to ride, however, she was determined to be involved on the day - and completed the nine-furlong course in 28 minutes on her crutches, before the big race, to raise £9,000 in total for the cancer charity.

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Ms Prescott said of the fall: "I immediately felt annoyed, as I knew that I had broken something and suspected it would not mend in time for the charity race.

"However, compared to the struggles faced by those who receive care from Macmillan my situation was relatively minor and short-term, so that inspired me to do something to complete the challenge albeit adapted.

"I was joined on my walk by my father, Neil, and boyfriend, Ian, as well as James Callow, who was providing me with a horse for the race, so it was a great experience to be able complete the walk with them as they have been a huge support throughout all my training and fundraising.

"I could hear my mum Carol shouting from a box up in the stands about two furlongs out, which was so funny as there was no way she would be able to sustain that level of enthusiasm for the length of time it took me to get to the finish on crutches."

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Claire Rowney is Macmillan’s executive director of fundraising, marketing, and innovation. She added: "On behalf of all our Macmillan nurses, doctors, support workers and cancer experts, I wanted to say a massive thank-you to everyone who made this year’s Macmillan Charity Raceday such a success."