A new start after 60: ‘I was in a bleak hole of grief – then I found love, horse riding and confidence’

After her husband's death in 2015, Khadija Mackenzie felt there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Then she tried a sport that gave her freedom and a deep connection to nature

As a child, Khadija Mackenzie saw a horse only if she happened to pass the polo club. It's very urbanised in Singapore," she says. We don't have much wildlife ... I think every Singaporean would associate horse-riding with a certain demographic." Yet horses rescued her from a deep slump.

In 2015, Mackenzie's husband, David, died suddenly of a heart attack. There was no time for goodbye ... I felt very bleak. There was no light at the end of the tunnel." Three years passed. She realised: Either you are going to dig a deeper hole or you are going to find a way out."

Tell us: has your life taken a new direction after the age of 60?