A WOMAN whose dyslexia stopped her achieving her ambition to become a medic has found a new career combining horses and royalty.

Gunner Joanna Waddington did Army medical studies after completing basic military training.

But she failed the exams at the end of her studies by a couple of percentage points.

The servicewoman from Clifton has difficulty with reading because of her dyslexia.

Instead of doing medical work, she found herself learning to ride from scratch in four months.

Then she was guarding the Queen at Windsor Castle during the lockdown and now she is looking forward to training for Trooping the Colour in future years.

She said the academic failure hit her hard.

“I nearly gave up on the Army,” she said. “But then they offered me a transfer to specialise in something else.

“When I was at school, I struggled a lot with exams. But when I look at myself now, I have achieved more than I ever thought I could.”

She believes her determination never to give up pulled her through.

“I would advise other children who go through a hard time or feel they aren’t getting anywhere, you can only be what you want to achieve. With positiveness and determination, you can get a long way.”

From the Army medical unit, she joined the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the unit that provides mounted field guns for the country's most important state and military ceremonies including Trooping the Colour and Royal Salutes as well as other military duties.

Members provided support for the NHS during the lockdown.