Paralysed jockey finds challenge in equestrian

An Ashburton jockey paralysed in a race fall seven years ago believed she would never ride again before turning to equestrian.

Christine Lawn was one of four riders taking part in the first para-equestrian dressage exhibition at the Royal New Zealand Show in Christchurch yesterday.

Fellow South Islanders Jenny Affleck (amputee), Kyle Woodfield (cerebral palsy) and Anthea Gunner (paraplegic) also took part.

The riders used modified equipment to assist with balance.

Lawn said dressage was good therapy after she received permanent spinal injuries racing at Wingatui, near Dunedin, in 2002.

She was surprised she got back in the saddle just months after the accident.

"I thought I'd never get on another horse again when I broke my back, and then three months later I was wanting to have a go," she said.

"There was a lot of hard work getting my balance back and learning to ride all over again. Things were a lot different to what they had been, feeling-wise and movement-wise."

Lawn said she started with no dressage experience but had been keen to get back into competitive sport.

Her coach, Emma Kent, made her ride "like an able-bodied person", she said.

"She's tough, but has improved my riding quite a lot."

Lawn, Affleck and Gunner will compete at the Riding for the Disabled Association of Australia championships next month.

They hope to qualify for next year's World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, in the United States.