'I didn't know I needed the air ambulance until it saved me'

2 hours ago

Alice Cunningham

News image — Bubby Upton (centre) was flown to hospital by the East Anglian Air Ambulance after falling off her horse

Bubby Upton A young woman stands in between two air ambulance staff members in front of a yellow helicopter. She has dark hair that is blowing in the wind. She is wearing a bright yellow hi-vis jacket and dark trousers. The woman to her left is wearing orange overalls and has dark hair that is tied back. The man on the right has short dark hair and is wearing a hi-vis jacket. — Bubby Upton (centre) was flown to hospital by the East Anglian Air Ambulance after falling off her horse

A British equestrian rider said she did not know how important an air ambulance was until she needed one when she broke her back in a serious fall.

Bubby Upton, 27, from near Newmarket, Suffolk, had been training when she fell off her horse and it landed on her in August 2023.

She broke several vertebrae and lost feeling in her right leg, and was flown to hospital by the East Anglian Air Ambulance, a charity she described as "truly extraordinary".

She had to relearn how to walk and ride, and now she is supporting the air ambulance charity's appeal to fund a new base near the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border.

Bubby Upton An X-ray image of a person's back and spine. Metal rods and pins have been placed around the spine. — Upton had to have metal placed in her back following the break

Three years ago, while out training, Upton's horse reared, causing her to fall off its back.

The horse came down with her, which she described as a "freak riding accident", with its full weight landing upon her.

The air ambulance was called and took just 16 minutes to get to Upton.

Bubby Upton A young woman in an electronic wheelchair rests outside a horse stable door. A grey horse rests its head over the door toward her. She is bending her head toward the horse to kiss its face. — Upton had to relearn how to walk and ride again

"The [air ambulance service] was there unbelievably quickly, and if it wasn't for their expertise and skill at the time, the line was so thin between a road to recover on and a very different story with the degree and severity of my injuries," Upton told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Louise Hulland.

"So having them was truly extraordinary."

Upton said she had been conscious throughout it all and was aware of the "delicacy" the crew handled her with as they realised the severity of her injuries.

"If it wasn't for their level of skill, as well as the speed at which they turned up, a move here or a move there wrong, and that's my life changed forever," she added.

Bubby Upton/Tilly Berendt A rider sits on top of a grey horse. She holds a silver plate that she has just won following an equestrian competition. She wears a black helmet, red blazer, white shirt and white jodhpurs. The horse has a black bridle and saddle, with a black rug over its back and blue ear covers. There is a blue and white rosette attached to the side of the bridle. — Upton went on to secure two consecutive wins at the Bramham Horse Trials in 2025 and earlier this year following her back break

Upton was flown to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where she had seven hours of emergency spinal surgery.

Initially, she had been told there was a chance she would never walk again, but the operation went well, and she braced for a long road to recovery.

By May 2024, she was competing once again and selected as a reserve for the Paris Olympics that summer.

She has had several more surgeries on her back, but said she felt "unbelievably fortunate to have made a pretty miraculous recovery".

Fabric First Architects/East Anglian Air Ambulance Artist's impression of the new East Anglian Air Ambulance base. It is a series of warehouse-looking buildings. In front is parking and some cars, with some grass and four trees. Beyond it is flat, arable countryside. — The East Anglian Air Ambulance has planning permission to move its Cambridge base to New Shardelowes Farm, in Balsham Road, Fulbourn

East Anglian Air Ambulance has two bases, one at Norwich Airport and one at Cambridge Airport.

However, with Cambridge Airport due to close in mid-2029, the charity is trying to fund £8.2m to construct a new base near Fulbourn.

"Obviously having the extra base means that they will have much more ability to help other people like me," Upton said, as she called for people to support the charity.

"I wasn't aware enough of the incredible work that they do until I needed them."

Former Norwich City player Grant Holt also supports the charity and took part in a 93-mile (149km) walk that started at its Cambridge base on 9 October and ended at its Norwich base on Monday.

Prior to the walk, he said he had seen "firsthand how important charities can be to families facing some of life's toughest moments".