Hi! I am Sydney

I love to ride horses. My dream is to represent the USA in the Paralympics and the World Equestrian Games. Come with me on my quest to become a member of the United States Para-Equestrian Team.

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Recent Events:

January 2012

January was an exciting month. I participated in my first CPEDI3* international show, the Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge. This show was held in conjunction with the World Dressage Masters, at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center, in Wellington, Florida. This was an amazing experience and very challenging. The challenge came because due the cost, I could not take my horse Chip. Therefore, I had to catch ride a horse I had never ridden before.

By the time all the arrangements came together, I had only 5 hours of training on my horse. Considing this, my trainer in Florida, Laura Rique, and I had to work very hard to bring everything together. All in all it was a wonderful show and a great learning experience. I am looking forward to my next CPEDI3* in California, in March.

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Upcoming Events:

Currently, my team and I are busy working on fundraising opportunities. Fund raising is a very important part of a para-equestrian's job. In the US there is no funding availalbe through government sources like there is in other countries. Our major competitors have support from their governments. So all para-equestrian must raise all the monies necessary for training, equipment, travel, and other expenses. This is a big job. So if you would like to help please click on the donate link. Any amout is greatly appreicate.

How did I come to this quest?

When I was 7 years old, I started to have some problems with blurry vision. My parents took me to several doctors, and I was eventually diagnosed with Wyburn-Mason Syndrome, a rare condition that involves fragile, malformed vessels and arteries (AVM’s) behind my eye and in my brain. If you want to learn more about it, you can read more in the “About Sydney” section of the website.

Just before I was diagnosed, I discovered my love of horses and English-style horseback riding. Riding and working to care for the horses really helped me feel confident and take my mind off my medical condition. I loved riding so much that I started eventing and competing with able-bodied riders, which I still do. Like many kids who ride, I dreamed about some day competing on a national and international level.

As I grew a little older and bigger, I started having problems with movement and feelings on my left side. Since there is also a risk of bleeding in my brain, my parents and I decided to seek treatment at Lucile Packard Childrens’ Hospital at Stanford University in California. Since I started treatment when I was 8, I have became far more familiar with doctors, hospitals, and medical terminology than I ever thought possible. I have spent the better part of 3 summers and many school breaks in California getting treatment. I eventually lost all sight out of my right eye and sometimes have problems with headaches. Last summer, I had a stroke from a brain surgery that caused me to lose a lot of control of my left hand, arm, and leg. To top it off, last winter, I broke my leg in an accident.

Throughout all of this, one of the biggest things that kept me going was my riding. Although the stroke gave me huge new challenges in everyday life and in horseback riding, my doctors and family credit a lot of my progress in recovery to my love a riding. Obviously, it has made competing in events with able-bodied riders a lot tougher, but I have not and will not give up.

After my stroke, I found out about the United States Para-Equestrian Association, USPEA. I knew that disabled riders existed before, but finding out about the USPEA and the US Para-Equestrian Team gave me renewed hope about my riding dreams to compete. I was lucky to go to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky this Fall, where I was thrilled to see such beautiful dressage during the para-equestrian competitions. I was even more thrilled to meet so many of the para-riders who really encouraged me to pursue my dream.

So with the help of my family and trainer, I have started my quest to achieve my dream. There are a lot of things that have to happen before you can compete at the elite levels that the Paralympians and Para-Equestrians do. I know I still have hours of training, conditioning, physical and occupational therapy, fund raising, showing, and, oh yeah, school (I’m an honor roll student, too!). But with the help and support of my team, family, friends, and sponsors, I am determined to succeed!

Not just for myself...

From my experience, I know that in the United States there are not as many opportunities for people, especially young people, with physical disabilities to achieve in Equestrian Sports. But with the help of the USPEA this is changing and I want to be part of the change. The USPEA is providing leadership for equestrians with physical disabilities to have fair, safe competitions for both rider and horse. I want to use the knowledge and experience I gain through training and competition to show others that they can achieve too. So come with me on my quest.