I have two horses of my own, one that I ride, called Delta Dawn, and one that I have retired as he is too small for me and almost 30 years old. Both are chestnuts. I started riding at the age of two on a miniature called Murphy, my mum used to attach us to the washing line and similar places on a lunging rope so she could work around the property.

When I was younger I was a rider at NSRDA and it was the highlight of my week. Now I am a volunteer on Wednesdays and I am part of the new trial sessions on Thursday afternoons. I really love working with the horses, the riders and the other volunteers. The volunteers all make me feel welcome and are very supportive of me and encourage me to do well. I like being a leader for Hick and I believe that I connect with the riders as I have an understanding of how they feel due to my own disability.

I am part of the Special Olympics North Harbour club and recently represented our club at the National Summer Games in Christchurch where I won two golds and one silver medal. This was a great experience for me and one that I will always remember. My goal now is to get to a World Summer Games.

This year, I have enrolled in the Level 2 Equine Skills course run through NSRDA as part of my future goal to be a therapeutic coach at NSRDA and to one day be able to run my own business from home providing other neurodivergent people the opportunity to spend time with and/or ride horses in an anxiety-safe environment and experience the great joy they can bring to our lives.

Thank you for reading my story

Bobbi-Rose