RICKY Smit has always had a passion for horses and the equestrian world. When she was growing up, she didn’t know what she wanted to do but she loved the outdoors and horse riding. So much so that she started a horse riding school in Zimbali.

However a riding accident changed all of that, but it pushed her life in a new direction.

“It was a fundraising event for the SPCA and it was an amateur bush race in a sugarcane field. I was leading the race and the horse had crashed the finishing line when I fell off. Miraculously all of the horses behind avoided trampling me.

“However one of the horses’ hooves landed on my leg, breaking it. I thought my world had ended. Then a few years later I heard about Nicholas Rey who I knew from the horse racing fraternity. It’s when I heard his story I realised how fortunate I was and that I could make a change,” she said.

Rey`s horse fell on him during a polo tournament, and the freak accident left the provincial polo player a quadriplegic with brain damage. He now communicates by blinking, nodding or spelling with an alphabet chart.

Fortunately for Rey, he had the financial means to pay for his costly medical treatment and ongoing rehabilitation and full-time help.

“But others who might face big bills as a result of a riding accident don’t. So I started the Nicholas Rey Foundation which is very close to my heart. Since its inception we’ve been able to help different people who have been injured in horse related accidents.

“We’ve been able to import medical devices to South Africa which specifically helps spinal chord rehab patients. We also donated an interface system to Entabeni Hospital which recognises eye movements and helps paraplegic patients communicate,” she explained.

She has already through various fundraising initiatives raised more than R500 000 for the foundation.

Smit now the marketing manager of Durban Aviation Centre (DAC) has also used her position to raise funds for the voluntary emergency search and rescue service, Rescuetech. She is also pursuing her pilot’s licence.

“Now I work in a different industry with horsepower of a different nature. But I still have that passion to help those in need,” she said.