BEFORE I WAS WHEELCHAIR BOUND

I left school in 1999 and went straight into horse racing;
a sport I love. I trained to be  a jockey and started as an Apprentice jockey on the Flat. In 2005 I struggled with my weight and got too heavy to be a Flat jockey, so I trained as a Conditional jockey (National Hunt Jockey) to ride over obstacles. I have always been an outdoors person, enjoyed football and fishing in my spare time, though working in horse racing there was not a lot of spare time.  

I was unfortunate to suffer a bad injury in 2008 in a National Hunt hurdle race at  Exeter Racecourse. I suffered injuries to my head, broke my back and damaged my spinal cord in the T4 -T5 area which put me into a wheelchair. Since that time I have been doing lots of rehabilitation and fitness work, keeping myself as fit and strong as possible.                                         

WHERE I AM NOW AND HOW YOU CAN HELP

I took up fishing again in 2009 because I had enjoyed it so much as a hobby. I taught myself  again, mainly carp fishing on lakes - getting a personal best of 24 lbs 12 oz. 
As a result of travelling around and meeting people I was talked into doing some match fishing. In my first  ever match I shocked myself by finishing 2nd in a charity event at Woodlands View Fishing Lakes, near Droitwich, Worcester in 2011. I joined a club called the Midland Bears, based in Bromsgrove. The club holds most of the matches at Woodlands View, which is good for disabled access;
the pegs are very flat and ideal for wheelchairs.

However I live over an hour away from this venue so my fishing days are long ones. Fishing is now my passion...
I have now been match fishing for Ten years and the biggest weight so far is 183lb 4oz. I feel that I am improving all the time and would very much like to continue to improve in this sport. In July 2012 I took part in a disabled angling event at The South Cerney National Angling Festival. This event is only run once a year and there were nearly 100 disabled anglers competing on three lakes. 

I was thrilled that having only been taking part in match  fishing for nine months,I finished 3rd on my lake, and out of the dozen people in a wheelchair I won Top Wheelchair Fisherman, winning a second trophy. I also won the racing welfare Fred Webb fishing Shield 4 times which is over 6 matches a year. I feel that I have a lot more to offer the sport and that I am improving with each match. I am looking for help and assistance to become more involved in the sport of match fishing.

I have worked part time for Cotswold Angling an Fishing Republic as a Web consultant and also social media as well as being involved with customers as much as I could for 4 years. I also ran a garden maintenance business of my own called (Burtons  Blooming Gardens) for 3 years. I love being involved in sport, and I have also passed level  2 in customer services and I am now improving my skills in website design.I am fully mobile and drive on a daily basis. 

I am also seeking sponsorship to help cover the costs of fishing and basketball matches, fuel, equipment such as rods, reels, poles, nets, basketball chairs and tyers. Any assistance in helping me improve, develop and  become more involved in fishing and basketball would make a massive difference for me and my life.

I joined a basketball team in the early 2013 called the themes valley kings and feel I have progressed into the sport. We got together a Adult team for the first time in the clubs history as they only had a junior team in the past years but now we have had a division 3, division 2 and a premier league team over the years but now we only have a division 3 and development div 4 team. There is always welcome for people to come an try on any training session.
Who knows you could be in love with the sport like I am now!!

Currently I am now living at Oaksey house in Lambourn, Berkshire. Since the move in 2021 I am yet to find any work but I have been doing the odd fishing lesson and IT support for other beneficiaries for the injured jockeys fund.
I am now in training for the London marathon 2024!!!