Alicia Griffiths aiming for the very top as she targets spot at European Championships and Paralympics.

Alicia Griffiths is ready to take on the equestrian world after the sport provided some much-needed solace during the darkest time of her life. The Bristol para dressage star, 37, was forced to give up driving, move back home from university and re-learn basic tasks such as brushing her teeth after suddenly losing her sight aged 19. Ad Griffiths was told she would have to abandon horse riding, but persevered and is now targeting the very top.

Tokyo 2020How do horses get to the Olympics? How do they train horses for dressage?27/07/2021 AT 15:09 «I started riding again when I spent a year in the hospital,» said Griffiths, who is supported by SportsAid and Marsh Commercial and was speaking ahead of SportsAid Week 2023. «My mum and dad would take me out of the hospital so I could sit on my pony. When you're a horse person, there's nothing quite like it.

»I'm quite stubborn, so that helped, because it was a case of 'you can't drive anymore, you can't walk round the street unaided anymore, so what can I do? I can go on a horse.' «I'm on a P3 pathway with British Equestrian, and I'm also incredibly proud of having competed in my first 3* event. I really want to go to the Europeans, and obviously I'd love to go to the Paralympics and move up the Podium Potential pathway as well. »I'm very lucky that in equestrianism you don't age out as you do in other sports, and I want to see how far I can go.