“You all have a fantastic talent, whatever that might be, you will succeed at it, if you put your mind to it and enjoy the journey!” 

What a lovely afternoon we had at Prince William School, as we joined them for a very special live Q&A with the amazing Evie Toombes. As part of this wonderful Wilson Foundation programme, Evie was a able to virtually join the students at Prince William School to answer any questions they had about Evie’s sporting journey and her hidden disability, and be inspired by her resilient outlook on life!

According to Purple, 80% of disabled people have hidden impairments and there is not enough information or general awareness from the public about these disabilities. Evie Toombes is doing some wonderful work trying to raise more awareness for hidden disabilities and was the perfect person to help inspire the young people at Prince William School as part of this programme.

During this term, the students at Prince William School have been watching a pre recorded presentation from Evie, who spent her time sharing her story and also the challenges she has faced along her journey so far. As someone who has had to overcome a lot of challenges already, Evie was the perfect role model to talk to the students all about resilience and working past those challenges, in order to become a better person and athlete. 

“By finding a way and not and excuse you can always work around a certain scenario to make it work in your favour. You can always do something! The more times you say yes, the more barriers you can overcome.”

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the students all gathered together in the main hall for this brilliant live Q&A, and asked Evie some of their brilliant pre prepared questions.

You can see below the questions that were asked during this programme and some of Evie’s fantastic responses.

What helps you to overcome barriers when things get difficult?

 Evie: “Being open about all of the struggles really helped me and helped me to raise awareness of invisible illnesses. There are excuses you can make every single day, but you have to remember why you are doing what you are doing and take a small step at a time and just accept that sometimes you will have a bad day, but it will pass!”

What would you name you next horse? 

What famous people have you met?

What made you realise horse riding was something you wanted to do?

What country would you like to compete in? 

What has been your hardest struggle?  

Did you ever feel like quitting when things got tough/hard?

Who or what has inspired you?

What helps you to overcome barriers when things get difficult?

Who is your biggest supporter?

Evie: “If you have someone around you that really believes in you, you are much more likely to do better and want to do better. Whether that is your teacher, friend, parent etc. Having a support network and a team around you is so important.”

How do you stay so positive?

Evie: “You cannot be positive all the time. You have to allow yourself to be angry and moody. You can’t always help your feelings, so if you do feel upset and angry, let it be and let it go and move on, as this can really help you. I find it is really important to appreciate the little things in life. If you can pick those out in your day, and you can look at things when times are hard and appreciate something, then that will really help to pull your day along.“

What would you say to young people that want to be sports person?

Evie: Go for it! You’re going to have to work hard, if you are able to do that and you are willing, you will always succeed.

How much training did you do before you got to compete for Team GB?

If you didn't ride horses, what do you think you would be doing?

How old were you when you first learnt to ride?

What is the horses name that you ride?

How long did it take for you to achieve your goal, have you achieved it yet?

How long did it take you to recover?

What inspired you to take up horse riding?

After a brilliant afternoon of questions, Evie’s final message to the students was…

“You have a choice about every single decision you make.”

We were delighted to be able to join the students from Prince William School with the amazing and inspirational Evie Toombes. Thank you again to the staff at Prince William School for helping to organise this amazing programme and allowing us to virtually visit you.

The Wilson Foundation chose to support this programme for the students at Prince William School, to support more young people in Northamptonshire during and after the Pandemic. We are incredibly grateful for their support and we look forward to delivering more programmes for them in the future. If you would like to find out more about the programmes we have already delivered for The Wilson Foundation, please contact Katie at katie@mintridge.org.uk

At The Mintridge Foundation, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to hear the stories and experience the power of our exceptional Mintridge role models have on the young people we work with. We know that having a role model who can support you, influence you and offer you advice that can help you on your own journey and pathway, can be extremely beneficial.

If you are interested in a Programme with Evie Toombes or any of our other Mintridge Ambassadors, or you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with one of our team of inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website at www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk or with Katie at katie@mintridge.org.uk.

The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities, and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.

Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as FitSwarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.

The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.

To find out more about the Mintridge Foundation, please contact Alex Wallace.

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