One Life, Dream Big – Part 2

Faye started competing in 2019, completing a season with Isaac, albeit in a carriage too heavy for him, so he struggled outdoors. They also competed indoors whilst she continued to steadily and quietly produce Majestic at home. Unfortunately, as we know, the Covid epidemic hit the UK in March 2020. In the years that followed, Faye’s return to competition was intermittent, marked by a series of stop-start seasons for a variety of reasons. Yet a turning point came when she was introduced to Fred Pendlebury, a fellow member of NEDT Club and an accomplished national and international driver who not only has a passion for horses and driving but also for engineering and design.

His involvement proved transformative. He modified the seat on Faye’s carriage to improve her stability, continually refining her equipment, and he began providing her with structured driving training. Fred introduced changes that helped Faye and significantly reshaped her experience of the sport. It was not until 2024 that Faye was able to complete her first full and uninterrupted season, debuting Majestic, including indoor events. In fact, they qualified for the Indoor Championship, but Faye was unable to compete due to an unfortunate broken leg.

A Motivational Speaker

Throughout this period, Faye consistently documented her journey on social media, offering a candid record of both challenges and achievements, the highs and the lows and particularly her close partnership with Majestic. Her story began to resonate beyond the sport.  In 2023, she was invited by a local bridleway group to deliver a talk about ‘her story’. The response led to a further invitation to give a motivational talk at an NHS conference, where she addressed an audience of 300 delegates. Motivational speaking has since become a significant part of her life. Through her social media, she receives a steady stream of invitations, including requests from schools, to share her experience. It is a role that she says she never imagined herself taking on but one she has come to value deeply because of the impact her story can have on others.

She is particularly passionate about shifting the focus from limitations to possibilities. Too often she believes that ‘society dwells on what people cannot do, rather than what we can’. It is a mindset that can lead individuals down a difficult and isolating path, one that she has experienced herself. Helping others reframe their outlook and encouraging them to see potential rather than barriers, brings Faye a strong sense of purpose. As she puts it, the work albeit draining, leaves her with a lasting ‘warm’ feeling.

Faye speaks openly about her struggles, the frustrations she has felt, the setbacks she has faced and the emotional release that has often come through tears. Yet she describes happiness not as a permanent state but simply as another human emotion, shaped by contrast. As she puts it, “You wouldn’t know happiness if it wasn’t for sadness.”

After years of difficulty, she says that she has worked hard to confront and reshape her mindset. Her outlook today reflects a strong belief in personal agency and resilience.

“No one is coming to save you but you,” she says, “Nothing is guaranteed to work but there is one guarantee in life – if you don’t take the risk, it’s never going to happen. The thing you’re most scared of is the thing that could possibly bring you the most happiness”.

Faye receives a high level of engagement both during her talks and her social media platforms; a number of just every day videos going viral.  She believes that much of this connection stems from her use of humour, which helps put people at ease and makes difficult subjects more approachable. By creating a relaxed atmosphere, she finds audiences are far more willing to open up, ask questions and actively engage with her message. As well as the motivational speaking, many have encouraged her to write a book, which she admits to having dabbled with in the past. However, now with her renewed mindset and sense of purpose, she is determined to see the project through and is fully committed to it.

Between her work with Majestic and her other driving ponies, including her Welsh youngster Donte, with whom she has started groundwork, just like she did with Majestic, her schedule leaves her little room for other hobbies but writing, she says, is now firmly a priority.

Team Tristar

For years, a combination of barriers meant that Faye was never in a realistic position to fully pursue her ambitions. Chiefly amongst them was the lack of a suitable, fully adapted vehicle that would allow her to travel further afield, stay longer at events and manage the practical realities of competing with a disability. Yet all this time Faye’s profile, together with Majestic, has risen sharply, building a social media following and attracting attention from the equestrian community.

While Faye was already researching companies to source a suitable horsebox, a breakthrough came when Team Tristar Horseboxes stepped forward with substantial support. Faye will now have a horsebox tailored specifically for her accessibility needs. This support is life changing; no more freezing in the cold, struggling with minimal facilities, going without adequate, essential bathroom facilities and a far greater independence whilst travelling. Faye requires a hydraulic lift to get in the wagon, a proper hoist to help her into her carriage (not the current makeshift car winch) and the all-important hoist track to allow her independence in her living area. If you think adding equestrian in front of the price of a product increases the price, add disability and treble it.

With those practical obstacles removed, the support has opened the door to expanded training schedules and wider competition opportunities, crucial steps that bring her significantly closer to achieving her long held goal with Majestic.

Her biggest goal now, she says, is clear. With the timing finally feeling right, she is hoping to earn a place on the British Para Driving Squad for the FEI Para World Championships in 2027. Her intention is to progress as far as she possible can in competitive driving with Majestic. Central to that ambition is a desire to showcase just what Majestic can do, his fabulous presence and how far they have come together. She describes Majestic as her ‘greatest achievement’. Training him from the ground up to his current level, she says, is especially meaningful because many people initially believed it would be impossible. Faye takes particular pride and enjoyment in the groundwork process and credits it as the foundation of their partnership and success.

Being no stranger to obstacles or setbacks, her journey so far has been far from straightforward. Yet, despite the challenges she has faced along the way, she says that giving up has never been an option. Instead, she has long lived by a simple guiding principle, a determination to ‘never give up’. Faye says that she has reached a point where she truly believes that things happen for a reason. Throughout the challenges, once she had let them back in, horses have remained her constant, keeping her positive, giving her a clear sense of focus and providing the strength to keep moving forward. Faye’s advice to others is simple and direct, ‘Stop thinking and start doing!’

One Life, Dream Big

It is a mindset that perfectly reflects the personal motto Faye lives by: ‘One Life, Dream Big.’  For her, those words are no longer just an aspiration. With the right support now in place and new opportunities opening up, they represent a turning point, one that could yet develop into something truly remarkable, even ‘sensational.’

To follow Faye’s story you can find more on her website – www.fayeoharamajesticequine.com