Watch: Shropshire rider Chantal back in the saddle after heart attack

Now the 38-year-old has stepped up her long road to recovery after she returned to winning ways in her first competition back in the saddle.

Chantal, who lives near Wem, was riding her horse Kodaline at Moreton Morrell Horse Trials in Warwickshire in May when she had a heart attack between fences six and seven on the cross country course and fell from her horse.

The mother-of-one was immediately attended by SES Ambulance Service, her mother Vanessa Nashat who is a qualified first aider and two doctors before being airlifted to hospital.

She says that if the accident had happened elsewhere, rather than at an equestrian competition, she could have died.

"Because I was competing there were ambulance crews on duty as standard and they were there within seconds," she said.

"I suffered a heart attack followed by four cardiac arrests but each time they were able to revive me. If that had happened if I'd been at home, shopping, or in my car, I would have died.

"I am so grateful to the medical teams.

"It has really made me realise how vital and brilliant they are and I would urge everyone who rides to at the very least never, ever complain again about the cost of competing and at the most consider becoming a first aider."

Chantal, who remained unconscious for three weeks, has no recollection of what happened but is now determined to highlight the value of medical services at equine events.

She said: "I was as fit as a fiddle. I could run five miles at the drop of a hat. How could I possibly have a heart attack aged 38? But I did. You have no control over it. I had cough which became a major infection, I ignored it. Then I very nearly died."

Chantal recently returned to the saddle and won her first competition back, riding her skewbald gelding in an affiliated dressage competition at South View Equestrian Centre in Cheshire.

"It was an incredible moment to ride again in competition and to actually win was beyond anything I could have imagined," she said.

"I was told I would never ride again and at the time of the accident, my family were told I had a very slim chance of pulling through. But seven hospitals, ongoing surgeries and a tracheotomy later and we've done it."

Chantal, whose five-year-old son Barney is also a keen pony rider, owns a equestrian centre in Northwood where her husband Mark runs Siddle Veterinary Services.

She faces ongoing rehabilitation as she now has a tracheotomy, which helps aid her breathing, following the accident.

"I am not all better and I have a lifetime of surgery ahead of me. My breathing is not sorted. Because of allergies and reactions there are not a lot of options for me," she said.

"But I am not going to let that stop me. I have proved everyone wrong and have got back in the saddle. I'm as tough as old boots and that, together with plenty of will power and the wonderful support of my family has helped me to get there."

Chantal added: "I want to raise awareness of young people's heart attacks. There are young people dying all over the place. I would also like to raise awareness of airway research. A lot of research is needed.

"I would like to do something next year like a ride across the Sahara."