By user3 on Tuesday, 24 January 2017
Category: Forces Equine

Injured Combatants League (IC League)

The IC League launched in 2016 and formed by founder Mr Joe Platt. Joe wanted to bring like minded serving and ex-serving members together in competition and last year proved it to be a success.

Joe's story;

"It was the start of a long and difficult journey to come to terms with the consequences of the brain injury which left him virtually unemployable. But he managed to hold down a series of jobs, as he tried to piece his life – and his shattered limbs – back together. The neuro-surgeon treating him said it was only because he was super-fit – he had nurtured ambitions to join the special forces – that he managed to survive at all. His family was frequently told to expect the worst. 

"When we got back from Afghanistan we were exhausted, we'd had a lot of contacts the week before and I didn't sleep much," said Joe, 28.

"I was desperate to see my young son and got into the car. Apparently, I fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a lorry. "I suffered 24 or 25 hairline fractures of the skull, I had suffered a traumatic brain injury. They wanted to remove part of my skull but my mum said 'no, he'll be fine, he'll wake up'. "To this day, I don't know how I'm alive. I had to learn to walk and talk again. The neurologist said my fitness was the only thing that kept me going, anybody else would have died. 

"I'd lost five stone and my muscles deteriorated. I started walking and kept going until I got better, getting fitter all the time. "I struggled like hell, I was angry, I couldn't deal with busy places, still can't to this day. I got to the point where I couldn't carry on."

"Horses & competing saved my life!"

​Check out IC League members Rebecca Foran Coutts & Joe Platt giving their all at the Scope Festival in 2016!