INDEPENDENCE DAY

To ensure he can be as independent as possible, Darren’s family invested in a state-of-the-art carbon fibre wheelchair designed by a Formula One engineer. It enables Darren to negotiate the toughest of landscapes, particularly those associated with horses. “It can pretty much go anywhere, and means Darren no longer has to rely on me to get about,” says Steven. “It has given him some much-needed independence and has a good range on the battery too — he managed a whole day riding round on it at Badminton.” At £11,500 it didn’t come cheap, but Joanna Jensen, CEO of Childs Farm, donated £7,500, and Steven’s employer Wiltshire Farm Foods gave £2,500. Darren also owns an i-Joy Ride, a type of mechanical horse. He bought one on eBay within an hour of Kady telling him about them and keeps it in the living room. “It’s basically the pommel of a saddle that you sit on,” explains Darren, “and it goes through the motion of a slow walk, fast walk, trot and canter. It doesn’t work my body in exactly the same way as a horse because I have to use my legs and hips to make Caellyn move, which I don’t on the mechanical horse, but it’s really good for my back and core.”