Paralympic champ inspires hope

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GEORGE NEWS & VIDEO - No one should put limits on your dream. This was the message of former Paralympic dressage champion Philippa Johnson-Dwyer when she visited George last Thursday, 3 October, to give coaching to local horse riders.

She shared her experience and expertise with dressage riders, aged between 13 and 50, at Deja Vu Equestrian Centre. For them, being coached by a double gold and double silver medal winner in Paralympic dressage was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Between the riding classes and during lunchtime she also answered their questions.

Double trouble
Johnson-Dwyer is South African and loves the country, but her biggest passion is horse riding. Currently she is based in Belgium. The experienced rider has walked a long and difficult road yet her story is one of hope.

As a young woman she competed at top level and was making arrangements to go to Germany to be trained at top dressage level.

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Then 21 years ago, in October 1998, she was in a traumatic car accident that left the right side of her body disabled. She lost all her strength in her right arm and 60% of the strength in her right leg. She had to start from scratch - and this time with a severe handicap.

Philippa Johnson-Dwyer coaching Danelle van Heerden (16) with her horse Acha Eragon at the Deja Vu Equestrian Centre.

After a long revalidation nobody could stop her learning to ride again. Determined, she faced all the hardship that comes with the territory and within a year she was back in the competition ring.

Unfortunately she took a fall and broke her back, forcing her to go through the whole recovery process again. She said that after her accident people thought she might never be able to ride again.

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The future is bright
Besides giving dressage classes, Johnson-Dwyer is also preparing for the national championships at the end of October in Brits in the Northwest Province.

She told the George Herald that she is looking looking forward to taking part in the next Paralympics in Tokio. She has already qualified, but in order to be eligible for the South African team she must participate in the national championship. It would be her fifth Paralympics. "It is like potato chips. You can't stop at one. It becomes addictive."

Paralympic champion Philippa Johnson-Dwyer talking at a lunch event that was held last Thursday at Deja Vu Equestrian Centre.

She said George has given her a warm welcome and thanked Di Pieterse, (MD Equestrian Qualifications Authority of SA and director: Education Council of Equine and Equestrian Professionals South Africa), the driving force behind the visit.

Johnson-Dwyer said horse riding has a lot of advantages for disabled people. It gives them freedom and makes them mobile. At the moment the sport faces a lot of challenges and she is concerned about the reluctance of corporate sponsors to support this minority sport.