Polly Williamson Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerPolly Williamson

Young Rider European Champion who successfully recovered from life changing accident

Polly Williamson is a multiple gold-medal winning event rider who suffered a near-fatal brain injury when a horse she was training panicked and kicked her in the head. Relearning to talk, walk and coherently think Polly is now following a successful career as a motivational speaker, focusing on building mental... Read more

Biography

Polly Williamson is a multiple gold-medal winning event rider who suffered a near-fatal brain injury when a horse she was training panicked and kicked her in the head.

Relearning to talk, walk and coherently think Polly is now following a successful career as a motivational speaker, focusing on building mental resilience and determination. She clearly and poignantly explains the tools and characteristics she used to work with her altered brain and how she rediscovered the key elements that drove her sporting success. Rising towards the challenge of securing her changed identity, Polly absorbed and worked with the added strengths of diversity.

At 18 years old Polly was selected for her first European Championships winning double gold. Polly went on to win a further 4 gold medals and 2 National titles competing across Europe and Australia. Polly also competed in a celebrity race round Aintree jumping the original Becher’s Brook! Polly secured numerous financial sponsorship agreements with high profile global companies and set up her own business producing horses for the international market, alongside training international competitors in Great Britain and Europe.

In 2011 Polly sustained a life changing accident incurring a traumatic brain injury. Her successful business was closed and her secure family life with her husband and 2 children was temporarily weakened as Polly was left struggling to know who she now was. This loss of identity – led by her damaged brain pathways – plummeted her self-esteem and confidence and needed extraordinary resilience and determination before she truly became secure in her new skin.

The decade-long journey from coma to a full, successful existence saw plenty of challenges overcome. Polly talks of the strategies she used during her recovery and her first-hand experience of the publics’ positive and negative reaction to mental issues. Her story is one of pure and relentless determination and is a reminder to anyone that it is always possible to start again, even after the most significant of setbacks.

Polly has achieved an extraordinary recovery. Enthusiastic to share her remarkable experiences with audiences globally, Polly has become the proud author of ‘Where Did I Go?: Rediscovering My Identity, Lost After a Traumatic Brain Injury’, a publication that provides an in-depth, personal and at times amusing account of what she experienced to the reader.

Polly is passionate about supporting the future generation, spending 6 months volunteering at a Barnardo’s centre supporting young children and an ambassador for The Sophy Layzell Trust – a charity supporting children with an acquired brain injury. Polly is also a frequent speaker for the charity ‘Headway’.

As a speaker, Polly shares her inspirational story and leaves audiences with the clear message that we all have an inner strength to overcome adversity and that a new path can be found, working with differences rather than against them.

The one-of-a-kind Polly Williamson is a humorous, sincere and heartwarming speaker, guaranteed to leave a strong impression on all her audiences with a potent reminder of what we can achieve.

"Where did I go? Polly Williamson. WOW! Our Aviva Risky Women community was joined yesterday by Polly a 6-times Europeans Gold Medallist at Eventing BUT that isn’t what she came to talk to us about. This story was one of the highs and lows, of courage, discipline, focus, competitiveness and love. It takes quite a bit to move me but Polly really did either that or someone had put something in the air conditioning. 
Twelve years ago whilst out riding Polly sustained a life changing traumatic brain injury. We heard about not only her journey of the physical recovery but that of her mental recovery – rediscovering who Polly was. 
The physical recovery – to be able to stand, to walk, to talk, to move … having been a sportsperson … would be challenging in itself (oh by the way Polly has since completed a half-marathon). BUT that wasn’t the biggest challenge, it was finding the Polly Williamson that she was now … I loved it when she said that where she found peace was when she was with the horses again – she didn’t have to talk and no-one was talking at her. Because since her injury Polly’s senses had become more sensitive … her sense of smell, her hearing – she was more conscious of her surroundings. Polly didn’t recognise the person in the photos in her house … she wasn’t that Polly. It is not uncommon for people recovering from traumatic brain injury not to recognise themselves and to actually change their names as a result. Polly’s resiliency, courage, competitiveness shone through but also one of the most important things we all forget is to ask for help – Polly openly shared this with us.
I learnt so much and the most amazing thing about Polly she delivered something she went through with so much warmth and humour. Thank you so much Polly for sharing your story, for inspiring us all and reminding us to be so grateful for everything we have." Charlotte, Aviva Director
"This was a fantastic session and fully echo Charlottes comments. Thanks so much for your time Polly." David, Aviva Director
"This morning I attended an inspirational talk from Polly Williamson (former European riding champion). The talk was about building resilience in your professional and personal life and was held at Clarke Willmott's Taunton office. Polly sustained a subarachnoid haemorrhage after a horse she was training fell and kicked her in the head. Polly was placed in an induced coma and when she woke 11 days later she had to learn to walk and talk again. Polly spoke to Clarke Willmott's Next Generation Networking Group about her accident and how she overcame her challenges with pure DETERMINATION. Polly explained how she gained confidence by setting short and long term goals. Achieving those objectives in turn built her confidence and therefore her resilience to the challenges she was facing. If you have the opportunity to attend one of Polly's talks, I would definitely recommend going!" Ben, Private wealth solicitor, Clarke Willmott
"Wonderful to welcome the incredible Polly Williamson to speak to our Next Generation networking group. Her inspiring story really shows what you can achieve with resilience, determination and the right support. Her journey has been quite incredible and I am awestruck every time I see her." Business Development manager, Clarke Willmott
"Polly makes all things seem possible with the right mindset and determination and her lack of any self-pity sharpens the listeners’ focus on what is possible rather than what is hard to achieve. I highly recommend Polly as a speaker." Mrs Emma McKendrick, Headmistress Downe School
"Like many others in the room, I found your talk inspiring, highlighting to all what you can achieve with a determined and resilient mindset." Malcolm Bennett, NatWest Director | Head of Financial Institutions
"Loved Polly’s perspective that an act of kindness goes a long way’’ Danielle McIntyre CCIBS, Global co-Chair Enable Network
"If you haven't just been on the session with Polly, pleaseeee watch it back, it’s such a thought provoking thing to listen to and I’d encourage you to share it around your teams as she gives such a wonderful explanation"
"Polly was fab wasn't she? And so inspiring"
"We invited Polly Williamson to speak at our ‘Business Brain’ event in London in April 2024. The audience was a wide range of executives from the Financial World. Polly used her personal experiences to talk about Resilience and building confidence. She took questions both during and after her excellent slide-supported presentation. The session lasted about 45 minutes. Polly fully engaged the audience throughout and received rave reviews. This was primarily because of her ability to relate to real business issues and challenges that people face every day, drawing from her personal journey having suffered a life-changing accident. Her advice was clear, practical and hard hitting. I would recommend her wholeheartedly as a speaker at any event." Director at Templar Advisors Ltd
“We were delighted that Polly agreed to speak at our Ladies Day event at Badminton Horse Trials this year. We had over 45 professionals from the Agri sector and you could hear a pin drop in our marquee as we all listened to Polly’s story of her recovery journey after her life-changing brain injury. A truly inspirational woman, Polly’s resilience and sheer determination to regain her identity left us in no doubt that any adversity can be overcome by having a positive mind-set and never giving up! I thoroughly recommend Polly as a speaker, she is professional and her warm personality when engaging with the audience really made our event extra special and memorable. Thank you Polly.” Events Manager, Albert Goodman Accountants

Popular Talks by Polly Williamson

  • Neuro diversity

    The neuro diverse will often think outside the box and new and unfettered thinking can make any organisation great. Keynote sessions will explain how the neuro diverse mind can think differently.

  • Mental Health

    Sharing the tools used to stabilize mental health and move forward following a life changing brain injury.

  • Identity

    We all seek an identity. Traumatic brain injury took away Polly’s identity and a keynote session can explain the characteristics and actions used to build an identity.

  • Eventing
  • Overcoming brain trauma
  • Determination
  • Resilience
  • Overcoming obstacles
  • Fighting back from injury