Catriona Cook

A bit about me...

"I spent a Christmas with my uncle, who was helping his friend with a polo yard, which is where I learnt to ride. I also stayed with relations who farmed on Exmoor, and ponies were borrowed from a local dealer. For my 9th birthday, I was given a £1 Premium Bond, which won me £50, enabling me to buy my own pony. It was my transport between relations who farmed and later between student jobs on farms. I navigated using my father's old War maps and did my first solo ride from Exmoor to Oxford aged 16. As an adult, I became increasingly interested in the legal aspects of rights of way and regularly reported obstructions to the local authority.

Access to the natural environment has always been very important to me, and I felt safer on the back of a horse. I enjoyed journeying on horseback as a child, so I have always taken groups of children for 4-day rides across the moors, and we did four Journeys for Access to highlight the rights of way legislation, riding 250 -460 miles. Once I heard that ancient bridleways could be researched and returned to the public, I decided that I would spend my life covering OS maps with green dashes. I have helped to record some 140 miles of byways and bridleways. A good horse gives me freedom to commune with nature and recharge my batteries."

Areas covered (Yorkshire region): East Yorkshire, North East Yorkshire, North West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

The North York Moors National Park, Ryedale, The City of York, and taking DMMOs for Selby. This area spans from the coast in the east to the A1 in the west, and from the boundary with Cleveland in the north to East Yorkshire in the south.