But the disability was not enough to slow down Moss Vale woman Jill Chauncy.

In fact, the 82-year-old, mother of two and grandmother of three has an admirable determination that has seen her achieve more than many able bodied people.

She has driven the trucks and tractors necessary for working on her family farm and she is a keen horsewoman.

A descendent of one of Moss Vale’s first families, the Throsby’s, Mrs Chauncy said she had never been one to baulk at a challenge.

She is equally keen to encourage other people to “not let their disability impact on their abilities” by being patron of the Moss Vale group of Riding for the Disabled (RDA) NSW.

Mrs Chauncy said her family from an early age inspired her determination.

“My father put me on a horse to rehabilitate me after I had suffered polio - there were no guidelines in those days but what he did worked,” she said.

“You tend to let the horse become your legs.”

Mrs Chauncy said that while she spent a great deal of her youth riding horses she stopped when she married her husband Peter in 1950.

“He wasn’t a horse person so I stopped riding,” she said.

However, it was a skill she never lost and it was an activity she took on again in a big way after her husband died in 1976.

“My sister, Del, asked me if I wanted to ride again,” Mrs Chauncy said.

“My first response was don’t be so stupid - it had been 30 years since I had ridden and I didn’t even know if I could get on a horse any more.

“But I quickly changed my mind when my sister told me I was a chicken - I’d never been one to back down from a challenge.”

Mrs Chauncy said she began riding with the RDA and soon became a role model for many children.

“The RDA children gained confidence by watching me get on a horse with my callipers,” she said. “Del also became involved in the RDA in a big way.

For the full story see the Southern Highland News, Wednesday, May 20

jackie.meyers@ruralpress. com