Equestrianism: Hasley takes courage on the gold trail: Genevieve Murphy talks to the disabled rider whose will to win has kept her going

If gold medals were handed out for guts, Allison Hasley would have a fistful by now. She is not, however, looking for hand-outs; she plans to earn her medal when she rides Monty in the World Dressage Championships for Disabled Riders, which begin with the opening ceremony at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire, today.

And she is going for gold, no messing. Clive Milkins, her trainer at the South Bucks Riding for the Disabled Association Group, expects nothing less.

'If I don't think she can do it, how can she have faith in herself?' Milkins asked. 'Allison knows that she'll have to find her own way home if she doesn't win a gold medal.' Trainer and pupil grin at each other after this familiar bit of banter.

Hasley is hoping to please many other people apart from her trainer. They include her fiance Ian Barclays, whom she is to marry next year; the South Bucks RDA group, who have given her tremendous support; and the people of Slough, who made her their Outstanding Disabled Sportsperson of the Year.

'I was given the award three days before the selection trials and that was a big boost,' Hasley said. 'The mayor made the presentation and he told me to go ahead and get on the Great Britain team.' Needless to say Great Britain also figures on the wanting-to-win-for list.

Hasley, 22, has had muscular dystrophy since birth. When she first went to the South Bucks group at the age of nine she wondered what she was doing there among people who were far more severely handicapped. But while others improved at riding, she has not been able to maintain her own standard because her disabilities have increased.

Last year she became confined to a wheelchair, which was 'a bit of a shock to the system'. But she manages well. Fatigue is Hasley's biggest handicap when riding. Twenty minutes is her normal limit; after that she feels as though she has run a marathon. On bad days, five minutes is all that she can manage - but Milkins always contrives to do something constructive so that the time is not entirely wasted.

'We always have a go,' Hasley said. 'We're both strong- willed and there are times of tension, but we know how to deal with that now. We just keep away from each other until it's blown over.'

Milkins, who has been teaching handicapped riders since 1989, is also assistant trainer to the British team. Pat Manning (whose pupils include Ginny Elliot) is chief trainer to the home squad of 11 riders who will be competing against visitors from 14 countries.

Riders are divided into four grades, according to their disabilities. Hasley, who was in grade two when she finished eighth in Denmark in 1991, is now in grade one, for those with the most serious handicaps. She will ride, walk and trot movements in two dressage tests, the second of them to music.

Normally she rides two to three times a week. 'RDA is my life, I don't know what I would have done without it,' Hasley said. 'It's brought me out of my shell, I'm not afraid to talk about my disabilities now.'

Her partnership with Monty, who has been lent to her for the championships by Barry and Pam Tottman, has been equally rewarding: 'He's a darling, he knows when I'm on him and he's very gentle with me.'

At 16.2 hands, Monty is far removed from the hairy pony image often associated with RDA. 'Nor is he like an overtrained Labrador,' Milkins insisted. 'It's Allison who is in control when she's on him. I always see her as a rider first, a human being second and disabled third.' Hasley appreciates that.

She had just been lifted on to the back of a pony, and was about to go for a hack, when I told her that I would be at Hartpury to see her receive her gold medal. 'That's good, you'll be able to write a follow-up story,' she said. 'And if the worst comes to the worst and I don't win a gold medal, I can always hitch a lift home with you.'

(Photograph omitted)