identifying features• looks very similar to pb, small leukaemia ribbon tattoo behind her left ear & this on her right arm





riley is the youngest in her family, born to strict but loving parents and two older brothers who she loves dearly. her earliest memories are of being on top of a horse, seeing as she was in the saddle before she could even walk. growing up she lived and breathed horses. with parents who were top, well known eventers she didn't get much choice in the matter, not that she would have chosen differently anyway, she couldn't imagine life without riding. riley is extremely close to her brothers, with people often referring to her as a mini jake as a child. growing up, she was more drawn to jake's outgoing, confident nature and would copy his teasing/making fun of ben, although she regrets it now.

when she was nine/ten, her family life turned upside down due to ben being diagnosed with cancer. she didn't know he was sick at the time, she just remembered him being unwell & always tired. she figured something definitely wasn't right when jake's teasing had died down considerably. her parents had hid all of the hospital appointments/stays from her for the first year, trying to keep her life as normal as possible until she finally found out through eavesdropping on a conversation one day. she'd heard the word 'leukaemia' and badgered her parents until they finally told her what was going on. she didn't get annoyed at her parents for hiding the truth from her until she was older when she could comprehend what it was. consequently she now hates being lied to. as a child she didn't know what cancer was, she just knew her benny was sick and she couldn't help him.

riley threw herself into riding instead of processing her emotions, focusing on being the best she could be to lessen her parents load. they expected their children to follow in their footsteps and that's what she was going to do. when she wasn't at the barn, school or harassing jake, she spent as much time as her parents would allow trying to entertain ben, whether that was playing card games or simply watching a film. during the last year of his treatment she would often accompany him to chemo sessions to help pass the time.

ben was finally in remission as her teenage years began and life started to get back to normal. with her fathers guidance and coaching from the family trainer, over the next couple of years, she was starting to get somewhere with her riding, showing a talent for cross country. it became something she hyper-focused on until her parents pulled her up on how her overall eventing had become sloppy, especially dressage. although she did enjoy all three events, dressage didn't give her the thrill that jumping did. riley pressured herself and knuckled down in her usual over-achiever way and practiced until her parents saw a difference.

it was during the run up to her mock exams in year 10 when things began to go downhill. between stressing about getting decent marks in her exams and placing in the many upcoming competitions, cracks began to form under the pressure. when she wasn't studying, she was riding and when she wasn't riding, she was trying to catch up on sleep. she began to skip meals to save time, opting to snack on things throughout the day, often forgetting to even do that. she began to gradually lose weight and with the constant social pressures of school, that wasn't a bad thing. skinny was and always had been one of the 'in' things in high school. she hadn't had the best start in high school, turning up with retainers then braces and being pretty short at the time, she had been a target for bullies. although when they realised they wouldn't get a reaction out of her they left her alone. her brothers had made sure she wasn't afraid of fighting back, something she was grateful for. she'd kept a small circle of friends over the next few years, so when she started getting flattering comments about how good she looked and popular people wanting to be her friend, she figured skinny was the way to go. since her future was written by her parents expectations and her grades were in the hands of the school system, it felt like her eating habits were the only thing she had control over. . but it turns out starving yourself wasn't easy and led to episodes of binging and purging.

she'd done a pretty good job of hiding her eating disorder until she passed out one day. she'd ended up in the hospital and things spiralled from there. she was diagnosed with numerous health issues that were linked to eating disorders and her parents eventually dragged the truth out of her. after what happened with ben, she hadn't wanted to worry them but honestly telling them had been a weight off of her shoulders. they had a lengthy conversation and she'd agreed to go to a counsellor. competitions took a back seat, although she was still allowed to train - just not as vigorous and a tutor was hired to help with the stress of her upcoming exams. over the next few years her relationship with food had healed through working with a counsellor, who had also helped her discover that she had ADHD, which explained a lot. looking back at her childhood, the signs had always been there - she was always distracted, forgetful, overly talkative, impulsive and messy but they were easily dismissed with being brought up with brothers.

armed with medication and coping mechanisms, riley felt like her life was finally getting back on track and she was ready to dive back into eventing properly. her parents gifted her a new eventing horse of her choice for her 18th birthday and they've been turning heads in the eventing circle ever since. she's spent the last couple of years away from home, travelling around different countries competing and training with the best of the best. a short while before she was due to leave, the family was rocked with the news that benny boy was in fact adopted and she's still pissed at her parents for keeping it from them all.