THE term “aiming high” is one seemingly coined for Alex Embiricos.
Because when she starts her fundraising adventure in August she will be taking on one of the toughest challenges in the world.
Alex, of Bradfield St Clare, near Bury St Edmunds, is hoping the odds will be on her side as she takes on the 1,000km Mongol Derby.
If she wins she will be the first woman ever to do so.
Based on the “pony express” service set up by Genghis Khan, Alex will ride native semi-wild Mongol ponies for about a week, changing ponies every 40km and navigating herself across the Mongolian steppes.
The 39-year-old hopes her own breeding and form will stand her in good stead for the challenge.
For she is directly related to the first British woman to break the sound barrier while she, her mother and her grandmother have all won Newmarket’s Town Plate, with her grandmother Eileen Joel being the first woman to win it in 1925. Her family has also had success with top racehorses, including her father Nick, who owned Aldanti, which won the 1981 Grand National ridden by cancer survivor Bob Champion.
In addition to raising funds for St Nicholas Hospice Care, Alex will be supporting the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, of which she is a trustee, and the Injured Jockeys’ Fund.
And as part of her fundraising efforts for the derby she is due to take part in a skydive on May 3.
To sponsor her visit www.justgiv ing.com/alexembiricos-dropzone
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here