A young woman who was helped by a Totnes horse charity to conquer severe anxiety has returned as a postgraduate researcher on a pioneering study into how horses can help children and young people.

When Eva Novi (35) walks through the doors of Coombe Park's Education and Equestrian Centre she describes it as "coming home".

The stables, the fields, the familiar faces and, of course, the horses, all played a part in helping her move from a time of severe anxiety to a life built around learning, research and equine assisted services.

The University of Stirling master's student has been working with The Mare and Foal Sanctuary's Equine Assisted Services (EAS) team on a project that uses disposable cameras to capture how young people feel before, during and after their therapeutic sessions with rescued horses and ponies.

Her dissertation on the project has since been awarded a distinction.

Eva, who has been studying for a MSc in Human Animal Interaction, said: "My journey really began here, through the This Girl Can Exercise with Equines programme, funded by Sport England.

“At the time I struggled to find the confidence to leave my house. Coming to Coombe Park near Totnes felt like a huge personal challenge, but once I was here, with the horses and the team, I didn't look back.

“That sense of peace and purpose, and the calm acceptance from the horses, showed me that things could be different and that I could be okay."

After completing her first six-week course, Eva stayed on as a volunteer, telling the team at the time: "You're not getting rid of me!"

She went on to join staff at the Sanctuary's Honeysuckle rehabilitation yard in Newton Abbot, working hands-on with rescued horses and ponies every day.

She even took a courageous leap from a plane at 10,000 feet in a skydive to help raise vital funds for the charity.

Those experiences built her confidence and shaped her decision to move to Scotland to study Human Animal Interaction at master's level, with every project she could choose focused on equine assisted learning

She is now thriving in higher education, where staff have encouraged her to consider a future in research and a possible PhD.

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary's Head of Education and Equine Assisted Services, Dawn Neil, said the charity is proud to support Eva's work:

"Eva's journey is a powerful example of what can happen when you give someone time, space and a safe connection with horses.

“She first came to us struggling with anxiety and found her confidence growing week by week alongside the horses. “Now she's back as an academic, helping us learn more about how therapeutic time with our rescued horses and ponies impacts our participants' thoughts and feelings.

"We know that many of our participants respond best to approaches that are creative and reflective rather than purely traditional impact measure surveys.

“Projects like this help us understand those responses in more depth. Our work is all about finding new and more effective ways to connect with people, and the horses and ponies are at the heart of that.”