Finding Freedom Again: Anne’s Journey Beyond Injury

Finding Freedom Again: Anne’s Journey Beyond Injury.

Riding Helps Anne move beyond her injury. It’s Not Just pony rides in paddocks

Through therapeutic horse riding, Anne is building the strength, balance and resilience to move beyond the limitations of her injury. Every ride strengthens her independence, reconnects her with the life she loves and reminds her that her injury doesn’t define what’s possible.

For Anne, horses have always been more than a hobby.

As a competitive equestrian rider, countless hours were spent training, competing and building partnerships with horses. Riding wasn’t simply something she did, it was part of who she was.

Everything changed in an instant.

A devastating fall during training for the cross-country phase of a three-day event left Anne with a high-level spinal cord injury at T4 -T5 and changed her life forever. Suddenly, everyday tasks that had once been automatic required determination, planning and extraordinary resilience. Becoming a wheelchair user meant adapting to a completely different way of living, but it never diminished her love of horses or her determination to remain part of the equestrian community.

Today, Anne rides through New Zealand Riding for the Disabled (NZRDA), where therapeutic horse riding has become an important part of maintaining her physical health, independence and wellbeing. She has also returned to competition through para dressage, proving that while her journey has changed, her passion for horses has never faded.

Every riding session is carefully planned around Anne’s individual goals. Working alongside her NZRDA coach, physical therapist and gym team, her programme focuses on maintaining strength, balance, posture and functional independence while continuing to develop her riding skills.

A key part of Anne’s therapy is the movement of the horse itself. As the horse walks, its rhythmic, repetitive, three-dimensional movement (rotational, lateral and anterior-posterior) closely mirrors the movement of the human pelvis during walking. Every stride provides continuous sensory and postural input, encouraging Anne’s body to make ongoing adjustments that engage her core muscles, improve trunk control and challenge her balance.

Although Anne has limited sensation below the level of her injury, the movement of the horse stimulates her body in ways that few other activities can. Every session encourages coordinated muscle activity, controlled breathing and postural engagement while helping reduce the muscle spasms and increased muscle tone that are common following a spinal cord injury. The horse’s movement provides thousands of purposeful repetitions throughout a single ride, creating an active, dynamic form of therapy that simply cannot be replicated in a traditional clinical setting.

Returning to riding after such a significant injury required careful planning and an extraordinary team effort.

Before Anne ever mounted her horse, her NZRDA ride team spent countless hours preparing. Her horse was carefully trained to remain calm around wheelchairs, mounting equipment and transfer aids, while volunteers rehearsed mounting and dismounting procedures repeatedly to ensure every aspect of the experience was safe. During her early rides, a coach and three trained sidewalkers worked together to support her as she learned how to rebalance her body and ride with a completely new understanding of movement.

Anne also drew on the experience she had gained over many years as a rider.

Working alongside her coach, she trained her horse to respond to carefully developed verbal commands and whip taps, creating a communication system that allowed her to ride confidently despite the physical limitations created by her injury. Their partnership reflects the mutual trust and respect between horse and rider, with both continually learning from one another as Anne’s programme evolves.

As Anne’s strength and confidence have grown, so too have her goals. She continues to refine dressage movements, develop greater independence and challenge herself with increasingly complex riding tasks. Every improvement in balance, trunk control and upper body strength supports important everyday activities such as transfers, reaching, maintaining posture in her wheelchair and completing daily tasks with greater confidence and less fatigue.

Yet for Anne, the benefits of NZRDA extend well beyond physical rehabilitation.

Time with her horse provides freedom, connection and a sense of normality that is difficult to describe. Whether she’s riding through the park on a sunny day, quietly spending time with her horse after a session or working towards her next para dressage goal, she is reconnecting with a part of herself that existed long before her accident.

For Anne, horses have never seen a spinal cord injury.

They simply respond to the person beside them.

That perspective has been incredibly powerful. At NZRDA, Anne isn’t defined by the life-changing accident she experienced or by the wheelchair she uses every day. She is recognised for her determination, her skill as a rider and her unwavering commitment to continuing the sport she loves.

Anne’s greatest achievement isn’t that she rides again.

It’s that she refused to let one moment define the rest of her life.

Through determination, expert support and the unique therapeutic partnership between horse and rider, Anne has rediscovered not only her independence but also the confidence, purpose and joy that come from doing what she loves most.

Because at NZRDA, therapeutic horse riding isn’t simply about rehabilitation.

It’s about helping people reconnect with who they are – and reminding them that their story is far from over.

Anne’s story highlights that therapeutic horse riding isn’t simply about rehabilitation. It is about helping people reconnect with their confidence, independence and the activities that bring meaning to their lives. Achieving those outcomes requires specialist knowledge, careful planning and a highly skilled team.

Behind every NZRDA programme is a nationally governed framework of quality assurance, coach training and continuous improvement. All NZRDA coaches hold recognised qualifications, undertake ongoing professional development, and deliver programmes in accordance with nationally recognised standards that are independently audited each year. This ensures every rider receives safe, evidence-informed therapeutic horse riding delivered by skilled professionals, well-trained volunteers and carefully selected horses.

Discover how NZRDA is changing lives in your community. Find your nearest local group to learn about therapeutic horse riding, volunteering, and other ways you can get involved. (LINK TO FIND YOUR LOCAL RDA)