AN EQUESTRIAN who is paralysed down his right-hand side will being performing dressage displays every day of the Devon County Show this year.
Ed Chanin, who started riding at the age of two, suffered a near-fatal fall from a horse when he was just 18 years old while doing jump training.
He changed his riding discipline from national hunt to dressage when he eventually got back on a horse two years later.
“I had a serious head injury and was unconscious with a broken back,” Mr Chanin said.
“I was resuscitated twice and placed on life support for several weeks.
“Six months later, after being in five different hospitals, I was given the green light to go home.
“I was paralysed down my right-hand side, I then spent the best part of two years having physiotherapy to help me walk and talk again fighting hard all the way to get my life back.
“The turning point for me in the recovery process was when my mum took me to Riding for the Disabled and I got back on a horse.”
Mr Chanin has since competed in and won numerous events across the country, taking part in both para-equestrian and able-bodied dressage competitions.
He will perform with his latest horse Frankie, which is four years old and 17.2 hands tall, at the Devon County Show.
Devon County Show Manager Lisa Moore said: “It’s fantastic to have Ed and Frankie at the show.
“This year, it’s all about making the show more accessible and inclusive for everyone, and this also includes our performance artists.
“Ed is not only one of the finest dressage riders in the country, but he’s also such an incredibly positive person.
“Of course, we want him to demonstrate his incredible skills in horsemanship, but we are also keen for him to show our County Show audience, that whatever life decides to throw at you, anything is possible.”
Mr Chanin will be performing in the Phil Greed (Countryside) Arena on Thursday, May 16 at 1pm; Friday, May 17 at 11am; and Saturday, May 18 at 12.30pm.
You can get tickets for the Devon County Show at www.devoncountyshow.co.uk.