Emma Cahill has had a passion for horses since childhood. She dreamed of becoming a member the Irish National Showjumping team and representing Ireland in the Olympic games. In her early twenties, Emma was rising through the ranks of equestrian sports and enjoying an active life. She liked nothing more than heading out for a night of dancing in high heels.

In 2011 those dreams were ended when Emma suffered a life changing accident. While training in France, a horse fell on Emma, shattering her spine and leaving her paralysed from the waist down. Stranded in a foreign country and too fragile to be flown home, Emma remained paralysed in a Parisien hospital for months.

She says that during this time she not only dreamed of riding horses again, but promised herself that one day she would dance again in high heels. She held on to those promises as she endured numerous surgeries and a painful process of rehabilitation. When she was finally well enough to be flown home she not only faced enormous medical bills but the prospect of never being able to ride horses again.

‘High heels and horses’ tell the story of how Emma returned to pursue her dreams of becoming an international equestrian athlete and her struggle to compete at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Produced by Frank Delaney with Tim Desmond. Sound supervision by Mark McGrath.

First Broadcast Saturday 25th June 2016 at 2pm.

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries.