Louise Blanch is a 45-year-old mum of four from Tidworth who has had cerebral palsy as long as she can remember.

She has always loved horses and used to ride with the local Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) when she was younger.

It was through the RDA that she got into carriage driving.

Competitive carriage driving involves three phases: dressage, marathon, and an obstacle course.

Louise was helped by GB POD, which is an organisation that aims to bridge the gap from grassroots to international levels through cost-effective, collaborative and sustainable training.

Louise Blanch at the Para World Carriage driving Championships(Image: Louise Blanch)

Louise is a part-time exam invidualtor and has a family horse named Cheetah, who is a 15-year-old Dartmoor Hill pony, and they have had him for 10 years.

She was selected to represent Great Britain in the Para World Carriage Driving Championships, which were held in Lahden, Germany, on September 4-8.

Louise was so excited to have been selected, and she said: "It was an absolutely amazing experience, and I had a great time. My whole team came along with me, including my daughter Chloe, who came to help out.

"We came individually 16th, which I was more than happy with, especially as it was my first time. Team GB as a whole managed to come home with the bronze medal, which is amazing."

Louise said: "Lots of credit goes to my backstepper for the competition, Sally Kerr, who has been a fantastic part of team Cheetah.

"Also, thanks go to my other backsteppers, Caitlin Larcombe and Claire Jopling and a huge thanks to all of team Cheetah, and those helping us at and in the lead up to the event, without whom it would not have been possible.

"Also to the GB support team out there and other squad members, who showed us what to do, where to be and reminded us of what we were capable of."