INTERVIEW
The newest recruit to Britain’s para championship squad tells Julie Harding about her passion for horses, amassing unexpected medals and suffering from a debilitating, painful condition that is so rare barely anyone has ever heard of it
IT RUNS SOMETHING like a fairy tale, or at least a well-crafted novel that is a bit of a tear-jerker. Girl is diagnosed aged five with one of the world’s rarest conditions. After numerous health battles and setbacks, instead of resigning herself to her fate and retiring to a wheelchair, with dogged determination she remains mobile. She develops a penchant for dressage and, after a succession of equines, she finds a slightly flawed but brilliant world-beater, is chosen to ride for her country and ends up on the medal podium.
This is the story of para rider Gabriella (Gabby) Blake in a nutshell. A true story of triumph over adversity and determination over pain. Gabby was born with Mucolipidosis Type III (ML III), a lysosomal storage disease that few people have even heard of, let alone understand. It is one of those cruel conditions that results from
two (unaware) affected gene carriers coming together and having an off spring. This offspring has a 25% chance of being affected by ML III, so in theory the odds are relatively good, but they didn’t work in Gabby’s favour.
“All I’ve ever known is having Mucolipidosis Type III. Every joint and muscle is affected, as is my skin, which is super-sensitive. If I have a blood test, I need numbing cream applied first as I feel the needle ten times worse than other people,” says Gabby, 30, speaking on the phone from her family’s home in Wolverhampton following two days of team training at the Unicorn Centre in Gloucestershire with her much-coveted grey gelding Strong Beau. “But over the years it’s got worse and I’ve had a lot of operations, including on my spine and my carpal tunnel, and I’ve had bilateral hip and knee replacements.
“The pain is the worst part of it, though.
I’m in pain every minute of every day, and it’s worse in my legs. Pain makes me tired, but because I’m used to it, it doesn’t bother me. I take painkillers to keep on top of it, and riding Beau takes away my
