A freak car accident 28 years ago left equestrian Karen Bostock impaled on a fence post with doctors giving her little chance of survival.
She ‘died’ twice and underwent 10 years of reconstructive surgery. In one dramatic operation medics moved tissue from her back to repair damage to her chest.
She was told she would never walk, have children or ride again.
But showing an incredible amount of Yorkshire grit she has done all three and is now an international para equestrian determined to make it to the top. She even plucked up the courage to drive again.
Karen, 53, of Skelmanthorpe, said: “Twenty seven years ago, aged 24, I had a great career in horses. I was running quite a commercial yard with over 40 horses. I started riding when I was three and had my first pony when I was eight in Flockton.
“Then my life changed on July 14, 1987, when I suffered a near fatal freak car accident near a humpback bridge on a country road late at night in Northampton where I was based.
“I was impaled on a fence post which went through my right chest and pinned me to the back of the car. The impact removed my collar bone, chest wall and top ribs. “I also suffered a shattered shoulder blade, fractured spine and nerve and tissue damage. The ‘hole’ was eventually filled in with my back, so I am literally ‘back to front’!
“After coming off life support I was told I would never walk, have children or ride again. I walked within a year, got married, had two children, Emma and Jack, and following years of reconstructive surgery, I got back in the saddle.
“I then discovered para showjumping and, since 2007, I have been competing at national and international level.”
Reliving that fateful night in 1987 Karen said: “The police think someone came over the humpback bridge on the wrong side and I oversteered. The whole story was incredible. I ended up in the middle of a cornfield. I was just sat there with this fence post right through me.
“But I was very lucky. In those days there were worries about leaving computers on overnight and this chap had decided to drive out to switch his computer off and thought he would take a look at this car in the cornfield on his way back. It was 11.15pm.
“It was before mobile phones so he ran to the farmhouse and called 999. Again I was lucky. It was the first night that the ambulance service had deployed paramedics and if it was not for paramedics I would not be here.
“They had to take the stake out. It was make or break. I was in intensive care for months. My sense of humour has kept me going.”
Her father Paul Blakeley and her brother Shaun were told by police she had died and they were in for a shock when they found her battling for her life.
She was transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which has an international reputation for dealing with spinal injuries.
Karen said: “It was an amazing time. They used to put three leeches on me to keep the hole fresh for it to take the transplant. I called them Bob, Dick and Harry.”
The operation was a success and eventually she was able to leave the hospital though she only weighed five and a half stone.
Although she is still in constant pain she has never looked back and with the support of Emma, who lives round the corner, and Jack, who lives in Penistone, she is able to lead a relatively normal life.
And now she has teamed up with former international show jumper Dame Emma Jane Brown who was forced to give up her own illustrious career because of an allergy to horses!
The two women are determined to improve the plight of para show jumpers who suffer from a lack of support, training and competition and suffer discrimination from some able-bodied riders.
Karen said: “I want things to be better for disabled riders, but the truth is, the para show jumpers have suffered from a lack of recognition and support, and sadly, even occasional discrimination. We have really talented riders who deserve so much more.
“Until now, there was no one to really help us or give us a voice. Emma Dame Brown has changed all that. She is going to take me and the other para equestrian riders to the top.”
At the end of January Karen will be competing at Arena UK in Grantham with Britain’s other para equestrians mentored by Dame Emma Jane Brown.
