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BACKGROUND
When Mary was asked by the Yorkshire Post why she was planning this challenge, they were slightly taken aback by her answer - "Because my mother had a wooden leg."
Mary's mother, Daphne, lost her lower leg as a result of cancer. She was a dynamic character - a keen rider, heavily involved in the Pony Club and the Riding for the Disabled Association - who refused to let this disability slow her down. She had a special 'peg' leg made for riding which enabled her to continue riding and jumping. As Mary says: "Riding got her out and on top of the world - to places where her wooden leg wouldn't take her!"
Daphne was a Pony Club DC and Regional Commissioner, so Mary grew up around horses and started riding herself from an early age. A high spot of the year when she was just 8 or 9 was the pony club quiz evening - invariably with a collection on behalf of the Brooke Hospital. She helped with RDA as a teenager before winning a scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Loriners to the Talland School of Equitation where she took her BHSAI. Then it was off to Homerton College, Cambridge where she trained as a teacher. Her student vacations were all spent with horses however - rather than be off 'inter-railing' in Europe she was training with Jo Challens in Upton on Severn, riding out race horses for a National Hunt trainer or hunting with the Ledbury or the
Croome!
Teaching Abroad
After a couple of years teaching in Bournemouth, during which time she became involved with the Fortune Centre, the travel bug bit - and Mary sold her young horse and headed off to the Mufulira Trust School in Zambia for two years. Africa captured something of her soul and she moved on to the Banda School, in Nairobi, where she introduced horse riding as an after-school activity. In both countries she was quick to find horses to school and compete on, pony club children and others to teach, and dressage tests to judge!
Career moves
Returning to the UK in
1984, she became Head of Lower School at Reigate St Mary's
Preparatory and Choir School in Surrey. In her 5 years there, she
was able to indulge her love of music – directing ambitious
whole-school musicals including Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour
Dreamcoat and Bugsy Malone.
Her next career move took
her to West Yorkshire, as Headmistress of Moorfield School in
Ilkley, where she oversaw many developments – not least of which was
the introduction of a few days 'roughing it' for the oldest girls, at
'Hag Dyke' an incredibly basic scout hostel on Great Whernside. Mary
remains involved with Moorfield, and the girls at the school will be
amongst those following this expedition.
Expedition life in Chile
After a rather brief spell as Headmistress of the Junior School at Westholme
School in Blackburn, Mary then seized the opportunity to join a Raleigh International expedition to Southern Chile as a volunteer PA. This involved her in a variety of projects including a sea-kayaking expedition in the Archipelago, construction of a school in a remote fishing village. She then worked for a short while with The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford - working in the Education Department and on an International Conference in Early Film.
Five years in Central Europe
The travel bug took hold again in earnest and Mary accepted another challenge - as Founding Headteacher, of the English International School in Prague (Czech Republic.)
Working for Nord Anglia Education, who are key sponsors of the current expedition, Mary opened the school in September 1995 with 25 children and built it to nearly 200 students aged 2 1/2 - 13 1/2 years, with over 30 nationalities represented amongst the student body.
Of course she found horses to ride in Prague as well , though time was limited - she made up for it by coming home to hunt with the Pendle Forest and Craven at every possible opportunity!
A jump off a tall cliff
Returning to the UK, you might have expected Mary to want to settle down. But NO - she had a new challenge in mind. Some internet research helped her make up her mind, and she travelled to New Zealand to check out the possibilities. She took herself on a course in 'How to look after yourself and your horse in the high country', run by one of New Zealand's top trekking centres, Hurunui Horse Treks. Despite her considerable riding experience, she found it somewhat disconcerting having to ride down a river that she felt would have challenged many a canoeist - as the horses picked their way through what seemed huge boulders and rapids.
Rob Stanley, proprietor of Hurunui, was sceptical in the extreme about her aspirations - but - realising how serious she was about the challenge - has now become a great supporter and friend. "It would be hard to contemplate taking this on without Rob's advice and experience behind me," Mary says.
What next?
"Who's to say what's round the corner for any of us" - Mary has nothing lined up beyond 2002 ...yet.... But she will need to earn an honest living once again....
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