Call 01444 831005 stephenminter@me.com.com
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At eleven years old he made his first major breakthrough winning a winter show-jumping points league. This was to bring out Ben’s competitive streak and encourage him to strive to be the best and he has never looked back. In 2004 he started training at Chailey Stud and in May 2009, aged 15, he qualified to compete at the Horse of the Year Show 2009. Recently Ben joined Ryan Crumley, Irish International Show Jumping Champion, as he prepared for the greatest challenge of his young life at the Horse of The Year Show. Ben did brilliantly coming in 13th place in the BSJA Amateur Classic Championship.
Riding has not only given Ben an opportunity to do something that he loves but it has also given him confidence and taught him self discipline, enabling him to make some amazing friends. He spends time with motivated and successful people and learns from their example.
All of this could have come to a premature end when Ben had a couple of particularly heavy falls at the end of 2008. He started to get headaches on a daily basis, making school even more challenging. He found sitting straight in the saddle difficult and his horse tended to veer to the right when he was jumping. His low back became stiff and painful so that training was an exercise in persevering through the pain.
We knew a local Chiropractor, Steve Minter, at Sussex Chiropractic so we contacted him and arranged for Steve to see Ben. After just one treatment we noticed the difference and following two treatments the headaches had become rare and minor. Ben was only getting occasional twinges from his back and he was noticing the difference when riding. After six visits the headaches were a thing of the past and his back was not hurting when riding. He has had a few tumbles since but nothing serious.
Ben spends at least two hours riding each week day, with one day off. At the weekends he is usually competing. He now has three horses and is preparing a young horse that will hopefully develop and provide him with an international standard ride. Ben’s dream is to join the Great Britain Young Riders Team and to compete internationally in the near future.
Steve’s perspective …
I have known Ben since he was at primary school with my children. When his mother asked me if there was anything that I could do about his headaches and back pain I was really pleased to be able to help.
When Ben came to see me his presentation was very typical for young people with the problems he was encountering. His upper cervical spine, particularly his axis, was subluxated and his pelvis was misaligned. The response to correcting the Axis subluxation with a McTimoney toggle torque recoil adjustment was almost immediate and his headaches were less severe after one treatment and had almost ceased after just two treatments. The pelvic misalignment also responded really well to McTimoney adjustments despite the fact that Ben was still riding almost every day.
In our Practice we get fantastic results from the McTimoney approach and I cannot over-emphasise how effective these can be. When Sue and I were training I still remember Stan Harding going on about “Trust the Treatment” and how important “intent” is when you are working. If any of you have read Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” and the subject of Noetic Science I wonder if it rang any bells for you! After over ten years in practice I never cease to be amazed at just how powerful our technique is! As is so often the case with young people Ben responded really well to treatment and I now see him from time to time to help him to live his dream.
Riding is Ben’s Life
a clinic success story
Jo Parnaby and Steve Minter
My son Ben started riding when he was three years old and he loved it! He first took to the saddle at three years old and his natural aptitude was almost immediately apparent. He was fearless and nothing fazed him. When he fell off he got straight back on again! Competing at Pony Club events from age six he started to win. Ben was diagnosed as dyslexic at an early age and he found school very difficult. Finding something that he was really good at enabled him to overcome the setbacks at school and to build his self esteem.