A Central Fife woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) has completed a three-day horse ride for charity.

Ruth White, 44, from Lochore, was diagnosed with relapsing MS in 1996 before she was reclassified as having secondary progressive form of the condition six years ago and can no longer walk without the support of a stick.

Ruth, her friend Peggy Nicholson, and mum Roz Davie, decided to ride a combined total of 45-miles around Lochore Meadows over three days to raise funds for MS Society Scotland.

The trio managed to raise more than £600 but thanks to the Hunter Foundation all funds raised will be topped up by a further 50 per cent.

Ruth said: “I used to do some awareness raising for MS when I could still walk but now my mobility has deteriorated, I can’t do the riding shows I used to do.

“My horse, Jay, isn’t a Riding for the Disabled (RDA) horse but the minute I get on her she is the most sensible, level headed animal I have ever met.

“Since the girls at my stable got me my own custom mounting block with smaller steps, I only need one person to help me onto my horse instead of three.

“So I’ve been able to get on more walks with Jay over the last two months and this has really built up.

“I’ve done four miles at any given time and by the time I get back, I can’t feel a thing and need a lot of support to get off and rest for an hour to recover.

“It’s been absolutely amazing, Jay gives me the purpose to get up in the day, through lockdown she has been everything to me.

“I really wanted to raise money for the MS Society, so I thought now that I’m able to walk more with Jay, why not do the Kiltwalk?

“I spoke to my friend, Peggy, who comes on her horse with me, because I can’t go out on my own, and we decided between us and my mum that we would take on the challenge.”

MS is a neurological condition which damages nerves in your body and makes it harder to do everyday things, like walk, talk, eat and think. It's different for everyone and can be relentless, painful, and disabling.

Ruth continued: “Jay is my world. I can’t walk the length of myself and when I walk with my stick, I’m hunched over.

“Peggy commented the other day that the minute I get on that horse I don’t hunch, I sit upright and sit in the proper position. I really feel like I’m not disabled when I’m riding Jay.

“Jay is my legs - she lets me see the countryside how I used when I could walk. When I’m riding her, I’m just normal, I’m just Ruth and that’s how I want to be.

“For me, MS research is really important. I don’t qualify for any MS treatments currently, only my symptoms get managed.

“I would love there to be a treatment out there that slowed the progression. To stop it completely would be amazing, but slowing it down would be just as good at that moment.

“If I could go back two years and be how I was back then, that would be fabulous, the deterioration since then has been quite fast.

“There are now so many treatments for relapsing MS and that’s amazing. It would mean the world to me if we could get more treatments for progressive MS too.”

To donate, go to tinyurl.com/7xrjzpan.