![]() What did your preparation regime for 2016 Rio Paralympics look like? After all, there’s no point in a medal if there’s no one to share it with. It’s essential to keep the people you love involved and stay connected. Even if I’d fall asleep on the floor, they’d cover me with a blanket and put a pillow under me and continue as usual. I’m fortunate that my friends were so supportive, I didn’t have a lot of free time, but they appreciated the effort I’d make to try and be there for things when I could. That kind of commitment is testing on relationships too. I didn’t see my family for about four years because I needed to train and competition season is September through to March, so it made seeing them on the usual holidays difficult, especially as they live overseas. But it’s the sacrifice of time, things and people too. There’s a huge amount of financial sacrifice, especially with horses. They only really wanted me to learn all the good traits that sports can give a person and of course, it was good for my health and rehab after operations. My parents never pushed me to aspire to Olympic level. I think, above all else, having a strong network of support with your best interests at heart is key. I came back ten years later to the same place and said help me get ready for 2016 games instead, and that’s what we did. It didn’t end up happening because I left the country and stopped my training at that time. I was only eleven at that time, but he believed in me even then. It was because my coach saw potential in me and he wanted to get me to the 2010 London Games to swim. In hindsight, it’s that training and breaking those walls early that made me the athlete I am now. ![]() But something held and I chased it when the right opportunities arose. I may have consciously forgotten writing that until we unearthed it a few years ago. ![]() I want to go to the Olympics and represent New Zealand in the saddle.” I was six years old when I wrote that. As part of a “what do you want to be when you grow up” writing exercise at school, I wrote “I want to be a professional horse rider. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with them. I have always been very impressed with people who dedicate so much of their lives to sport and competing. She has created several fantastic innovative initiatives, and it is my pleasure to have her on Storyo! Charlotte is an equestrian para-athlete and an alumna of the University of Auckland. I wasn’t sure how Charlotte and I got connected in the first place, but I snooped around, and found what a cool person she is! It is inspiring to see young people be passionate about impactful work and executing on it too. Universal design is a concept that we should create products and services that work well for all, no matter your ability, gender, race, background. I saw Charlotte’s post on LinkedIn about universal design, a topic that I have recently been pondering.
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