WHEN Ann Bowes' son drowned, aged 25, she couldn't begin to imagine life without him and every day brought her pain. But then a foal, born just a few days after his death, showed her that she could continue and helped her fulfil a lifelong dream.

When she was little girl, Ann dreamed of owning a horse but as one of seven children growing up on a poor farm in North Yorkshire, the nearest she came was owning a goat. Running wild, climbing trees and tickling trout, she loved the outdoors but she longed to explore it on horseback. "The goat just wasn't the same," she laughs.

It was only after she married and had children of her own that she finally got her horse, at the age of 23. Her husband, Allan, a gamekeeper, was offered a new job and the couple moved to their current home, near Whitby. A three-acre field was attached to the house, giving Ann the space she needed to keep a horse.

Her search for a suitable mount led her to Napoleon - a large black cob that had pulled a rag and bone cart. He was gentle and quiet but hadn't been ridden much and Ann had virtually no experience. With a lot of determination and a stack of library books, she taught herself to ride. With three toddlers to look after, it was difficult to practise every day but she fitted it in. "I had wanted a horse for so long I was determined to ride well. I don't believe in doing things by halves," she says.

After a few years, she graduated from her cob to other horses, learned how to jump and break them in. By now, she had four children but they were growing up, giving her more time to devote to riding.

In 1993, she decided to start breeding her own horses - a dream of hers. By May the following year, her mare Ruby was in foal and everything was going well.

But then something happened that would change her life forever. Her son Dan was drowned when his car was swept over a ford. Following protests from local people, a safety barrier was built on the downstream side of the ford to prevent a similar accident happening in the future, but it was no consolation.

"The pain was immense and for a time life had little meaning. It was just the support and comfort from friends and family that helped us through those dark days. They all shared with us the heavy burden of pain. I can't describe what it was like."

There was one ray of sunshine. Three weeks after Dan's death, Ruby gave birth to a foal. Ann had no doubts about his name: Danny Boy. She lavished attention on the foal, which gave new purpose to her life, but she also became heavily involved with charity work.

"It was devastating, but rather than wallow in self-pity, I wanted to give myself something to do. I just kept thinking to myself that tomorrow would be better and that it wouldn't always hurt this much."

Ann had always supported charities, helping disabled children learn to ride, but she threw herself into it following Dan's death. Her first event was an open garden day at her farm, which has now become an annual event. She also runs a choir in the village, which gives regular charity concerts.

Three years ago she decided to ride from coast to coast across the North of England to raise money for Leukaemia Research after a friend was diagnosed with the disease.

Ann rode from Morecambe Bay in the west to Runswick Bay in the east, a journey which took seven days on Danny Boy, by now aged six.

She was accompanied for most of the route by her friend Margaret Barraclough and husband Allen, who drove a Land Rover filled with tack and supplies.

She talks of fogs, boggy ground and driving rain over the Pennines, the shock of multi-lane motorways, express trains and fighter jets to country-bred horses. But highlights included being greeted at Helmsley by Desert Orchid and escorted through Middleham by a group of thoroughbreds.

The ride raised almost £6,000 and Ann has just published a book, Riding for Life, about her experiences. She says: "At first I was just going to do a scrapbook, mainly so my children and grandchildren would have something to look at but I have always wanted to write. I've loved working on the book, almost as much as I enjoyed the ride. It's my way of giving back something to the countryside which has given so much to me."

* Riding for Life is published by Fryup Books and is available at £16.95 plus P&P from Fryup Press, Fairy Cross Plain, Fryup, Danby, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 2NS