Athina Onassis recovers from spinal injury to attend equestrian event

Showjumper and heiress Athina Onassis de Miranda hopes to return to competitive action this month after recovering from a spinal injury.

The heiress was ordered to have two months off competing after she fell from her horse last November.

'It is a very bad injury but we are happy, it could have been much worse,' her husband and fellow showjumper Alvaro Affonso de Miranda Neto, known as 'Doda', said at the time of the accident. He added that she would 'make a complete recovery' with her next competition likely to be at Palm Beach this January.

The couple were spotted at the Florida venue yesterday as Doda started his campaign in the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival that will run until March.