HOUSEWIFE IN RUNNING TO WIN £50,000 FOR AIR AMBULANCE

Apr 4 2008 by Audrey Barton, The Journal

A HOUSEWIFE is hoping to win £50,000 for charity in the race of a lifetime on Grand National day.

Mother-of-two Sheila Dickson is gearing up to compete against nine other amateur hopefuls in a charity horse race at Aintree tomorrow in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

Mrs Dickson, from Mindrum Farm Cottages in Cornhill, Northumberland, has already netted £5,000 for her cause by winning her place among the final 10 riders for the John Smith’s People’s Race.

Despite being ranked as the bookmakers’ least favourite at 17/1 with her horse Prince Adjal, she is hoping to turn the odds around and win the prize for the charity on the day.

The 41-year-old, who has been riding since she was a child and has three horses of her own, said: “My husband, Gary, saw the race advertised and knowing about my love of horses entered me into the competition. I then got a phone call asking me to come to an assessment weekend and I ended up in the final 10. It’s been a dream come true for me.

“The training was quite difficult and I’ve been working hard on my fitness level but it’s only now that I’m starting to realise what I’ve let myself in for.”

The race was made even more meaningful for Mrs Dickson when she chose to back the Great North Air Ambulance Service to show her appreciation following a rescue in 2001. She said, “I had to be airlifted to hospital when I was having my second son as we live in a rural area and were snowed in.”

On the big day, the keen amateur rider will be cheered on by husband Gary, 50, a mechanical engineer, and children James, 10, and Liam, 7.