An inspiring afternoon of a different kind at the polo

It was horse sport of a different kind for me last weekend as I headed over to Salisbury to enjoy a spot of polo.

Every year, the Tidworth Polo Club plays host to the Rundle Cup match, an annual fixture between the Army and Navy, and as part of the day's festivities the Inspire Foundation, a spinal cord injury charity, hosts a morning of events.

First up was a wheelchair relay race, which I was very kindly asked to start, followed by a jockeys v eventers polo match that featured a few of the jumps boys.

Nick Schofield, Will Kennedy and Guy Disney were among those taking part and, while the standard was not quite up to that of the main event later in the day, it was great fun to watch!

Chatting to Nick, Will and Guy afterwards was a real pleasure and it was great in particular to see Guy doing his thing. I've said plenty of times that I am a big believer in the saying 'where there is a will, there is a way' and Guy is proof of that given what he has achieved since being injured in Afghanistan

It was not only intrigue about polo that made me make the trip to Salisbury, as fun as that was, but an interest to learn more about Inspire, an organisation I admit I knew little of before I was injured last year.

There are so many things I am still learning about my life having suffered a major spinal cord injury and that includes the type of help and support that could be available to me.

I was really impressed with what I saw from the Salisbury-based Inspire, who have invested more than £1.5 million into research projects and other fundraising activities since being established by a group of spinal injury patients in 1985.

There is no government funding for spinal cord injury research, so their work really is vital and I look forward to working with them more in the future. You can find out more about them, and indeed make a donation, at their website.

Ownership experience a thrill

I was back at the races again yesterday as I headed along to Newmarket to experience something completely different, as one of the three horses I am a part-owner of made his debut.

Insurgence, trained by James Fanshawe, made his debut in the first division of the seven furlong maiden and even though he did not win, it was a real buzz to be involved in racing again in this new way on such a big day.

James is not a trainer renowned for getting horses out and winning early on as two-year-olds, so I am sure the son of Sepoy will come on for the experience and give us plenty of fun in the future.

I have to say a huge thank you once again to Dr Catherine Wills, who involved me in Insurgence, along with two other juveniles who are yet to make their debuts. It was such a generous gesture, such a thoughtful thing to do and it has given me a real boost. I would never have thought I would be in this position at this time.

I was lucky enough to ride winners for her before my injury and hopefully one day we will all be celebrating a victory together once again.

Performance of the week

The finish of last week's Coral-Eclipse was the most exciting in a Group 1 this year and both Ulysses and Barney Roy deserve tremendous credit.

Ulysses is so well bred and getting that Group 1 victory to his name is very important. The way he travelled to the front suggests this should not be the only one on his CV by the time his racing career comes to an end.

Barney Roy, meanwhile, ran brilliantly so soon after Royal Ascot and is emerging as a truly outstanding three-year-old. The future for him looks extremely bright and I think he would be the one to beat if Richard Hannon decided to head to the Juddmonte International at York.