Cliff O’Farrell

An explosion in Afghanistan 10 years ago threatened his life and ended Cliff’s career with the Household Cavalry. But despite five years in recovery, gruelling physiotherapy and tough times, he says, with a loving wife and son, he has plenty to be thankful for and is determined to help other former soldiers struggling to cope by sharing his love of horses. We are proud to have Cliff as our special Ambassador, representing injured and former soldiers from The Household Cavalry.

Cliff is not a guy who gives up. He was the first injured serviceman to try polo, and with his Help for Heroes teammates he’s achieved great success. Winning man of the match in the Best of British Para Polo match, helping to raise tens of thousand of pounds for military charities playing matches across the UK and promoting horses as a good sport for recovery, His next goal is to get Para polo accepted as a sport in the Invictus Games, the sporting event set up by Prince Harry for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.

“Five hours later [after the explosion] I woke up in Camp Bastion hospital, in Helmand Province. The doctors said I had severe injuries to my pelvis and spine and my left leg had been shattered in ten places. It was twisted and scarred with shrapnel wounds and I was told it would be a lot easier for me if I agreed to have my leg amputated. I thought long and hard but decided against it. I was taking a massive chance but I made the right choice.”

For Cliff, who is now 40, and lives near Windsor, in Berkshire, the turning point was meeting Amanda, his hospital nurse who later became his wife and mother of his much loved son, eighteen-month-old Flynn.

Cliff was warned to expect the limitations that his injuries might determine, but he has defied doctors and is pushing back the boundaries in a way he could never have imagined five years ago. “I was told I would be stuck in an office so I decided to make the cockpit of an aeroplane my office. I qualified as a private pilot in aeroplanes and eventually gained a commercial helicopter pilots license.

“I am a determined sort of guy but it is tough being a 40-year-old trying to do what a 28-year old would be doing. I couldn’t have done it without the help and support of the Household Cavalry Foundation. I owe them such a debt.

“Through it all my life long love of horses has kept me sane and helped me find myself again. In the Household Cavalry horses play a big part in ceremonial duties and every cavalryman has to be able to ride. As soon as I was able I was back in the saddle and once you feel that connection that horses can give you, it helps you reflect and put things into perspective. My goal now is to help others heal by developing the sport of Para polo. There is a perception that it is elitist and I want to change all that.”

Over the years Cliff has taken on many challenges from completing an Iron Man Triathlon on crutches to swimming around Jersey for charities. But it was horses that made a huge impact in Cliff’s recovery from taking on Stunt Riding and Archery on horseback at The Centre for Horseback Combat and Falconry in Devon. Then there was endurance riding in South Africa to completing a horse trek over seven days, covering 250km in India with other injured servicemen and women on Marwari horses.

He is also involved with charities such as Power of Polo which provides support for those with social, economic or health challenges, and Polo for Heroes that provided much needed support for those injured during their military service.

To help him, Cliff has become the first recipient of a special bursary from War Horse Memorial, set up after kind-hearted supporters helped us to fund Poppy our national monument to remember the service and sacrifice of millions of horses, mules and donkeys in World War One.

He adds: “Getting my life back on track has been hard I don’t mind admitting. The physical scars heal and tell their own story, but there’s a lot of anger to work through – and you have to work through it. One lesson I’ve learned is that life doesn’t stop, or wait for you to catch up.”

During the pandemic Cliff has been making his contribution, delivery driving for Tesco, helping out around his village as a NHS volunteer responder and preparing GP practices and dental surgeries to reopen as a Health and Safety Consultant. We are so lucky to have Cliff on the team.