A COURAGEOUS grandmother had a golden moment of her own at the Sydney Olympics.

For through her monumental fund-raising efforts, Elaine Straker won a trip to the games to witness the British three-day eventing team bring home the silver medal in the sport to which she has dedicated her life.

And her own daughter was among the equestrian squad taking part in the events.

Mrs Straker rode 65 miles across the Pennines to raise money for the Petplan Millennium Challenge and was named the person raising most in sponsorship cash for the cause.

The initiative was in support of the British Equestrian Federation Fund to help teams in their quest for Olympic gold and for animal charities.

Mrs Straker, who comes from Caldwell, rallied a group of riders and together they raised more than £8,500.

Mrs Straker alone raised £3,000 to clinch the trip for two to Sydney.

The good news did not stop there when it was announced her daughter, international event rider Karen Dixon, had been chosen to join the team.

Mrs Straker had thought she would miss out on the chance to see her daughter compete.

"I have lived, loved and worked with horses all my life and winning a trip to see the equestrian teams in action was incredible," she said.

"The fact that Karen was competing made it even more special."

The 73-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 14 got involved with the millennium challenge when she was ill with flu and resolved to make raising cash her priority once she was up and about.

So while Karen aimed for the Olympics, her mother started to plan a cross-country ride to show her support.

The route she chose fulfilled an ambition to follow an old drovers' road from her home to Ings in Cumbria.

"Friends and family gave me lots of support," she said. "I couldn't have completed my challenge without them."

She also had a lot of help from her mount Get Smart, the horse ridden by Karen Dixon in the Seoul and Barcelona Olympics.

The combined age of Mrs Straker and her horse is 93 years - proving age is no barrier to success.