A GP from Wareham is running a half marathon to raise money for the RAC Saddle Club on the anniversary her daughter fell ill.

Nicky Dawson, GP at Sanford Surgery in Wareham, is running the 13 mile distance on July 19 to raise the money as a way of showing her gratitude and support to the horse riding school in Bovington who helped her daughter rehabilitate from a severe eating disorder.

Dr Dawson's daughter, Josie, became unwell with anorexia nervosa almost one year ago at age 14. She started visiting the stables along with her older sister and developed a connection with a pony, named Rosie, which helped drive her recovery so that she could ride.

Dr Dawson said: "The day that I am doing the run is exactly one year from the day that Josie first got on a horse at the RAC Saddle Club which was the first stage of her recovery.

"When Josie became ill I didn't want her to have to go into hospital so I gave up work for six months to take care of her. It was really hard doing it on my own but she has come so far in a year compared to a lot of people who have true anorexia nervosa and can't eat a thing.

"Most people take much longer to get to the stage she has gotten to in one year and I am convinced that it is down to what we did and when she started to ride she felt like she had a purpose in life again.

"We are up at the stables everyday and, when I'm not at work, I spend two or three hours there with my daughters. It is like a family, everyone really supports everyone else and they do so much to help young people and offer them support."

Despite having tears in her hip joints, Dr Dawson is taking on the challenge of running the half marathon in the hope of raising more than £2,000 for the RAC Saddle Club and for the work that they do supporting military personnel suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

She said: "The club do a lot for the lads who have severe trauma and they let them develop a relationship with the horses and talk to them and it's amazing how it has really helped a lot of them and their families.

"They rely so much on money coming in from people having lessons which they cannot do at the moment so they are struggling financially because of the pandemic.

"I hope to raise as much as I can to keep the RAC Saddle Club in a position to be able to continue to support others, like my daughter, with mental health illness."

Dr Dawson added: "Josie will be doing the last 10 kilometers of the run with me riding Rosie which will be very emotional."

You can donate to Nicky Dawson's fundraiser at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nicky-dawson-runfortheracsaddleclub.