At the 2023 Australian Dressage Championships, para dressage rider Rebecca Webber and off-the-track Thoroughbred Glenayre Skyline went down the centreline for the first time. Glenayre Skyline, aka Zac, has had more experience around 1.20m show jumping courses, while Rebecca first picked up the reins seriously two years ago – however, that was never going to stop them. And neither was the weather.

“Coming from the Kinglake Ranges in Victoria, we’re fairly used to the wind and the weather… however that test on the second day, every time Zac looked at C he was getting smacked in the face with sideways rain. He wasn’t impressed, but he did an amazing job for our second ever para dressage test!” laughs Rebecca of the pair’s introduction to the competitive side of the sport at Boneo Park.

Rebecca and Zac, who raced under the name Liberty Prince (Statue Of Liberty x Zattica), won their Intermediate A and B tests, and although they elected not to contest the Freestyle, they were named the CPEDI2* Grade II Reserve Champions. They were also part of the winning Victorian CPEDI2* Para Dressage Team.

It was an incredible feat for their first para dressage event, and even more amazing given the fact the pair only met each other for the first time in March this year.

PICKING UP THE REINS

Rebecca has always loved horses and did the odd bit of trail riding during her childhood; however, it wasn’t until September 2021 that she first picked up the reins in any serious sense. Diagnosed with an ultra-rare degenerative genetic disorder, spinocerebellar ataxia, in 2020, Rebecca’s movement and balance became compromised, and this led her to consider the benefits of riding.

“I read a white paper that said spinocerebellar ataxia patients benefit from the gait of a horse because it mimics the same gait as humans. It tricks the brain into thinking you’re walking normally,” recalls Rebecca of the reason why she initially got in the saddle.

She contacted Scott Nicholas, Participation and Pathways Coordinator at Paralympics Australia, to find out how she could take up horse riding. “I said to Scott, ‘I want to ride, how do I get involved?’ and he said, ‘You’re one of the few people that calls up and knows exactly what they want! I have this fabulous lady…’ and he introduced me to Julia Battams,” recalls Rebecca.

Julia is of course the founder of Equine Pathways Australia (EPA), a not-for-profit organisation that provides pathways for people with injury, illness or disability to engage in equestrian sport. “When Julia was discussing her program, I just thought, ‘Wow, I want to be a part of that’,” says Rebecca.

She signed up to EPA in 2020, but due to the pandemic was unable to attend a clinic or have her first ride until September 2021. She was quickly hooked and has continued to attend monthly EPA clinics ever since.

The first horse she rode was a Quarter Horse, and consequently Rebecca’s first competitive venture was with Quarter Horses in western performance classes. “I started off in western performance and my first show was in November of 2021 at the Victorian State Quarter Horse Show. I took out all four classes and was high point champion. So that was my entry to horse riding!”

Rebecca competed all around Australia at Australian Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and Australian Pleasure Horse Association (APHA) competitions in western performance classes, and then tried her hand at para reining midway through last year: “I went to the Australian Reining National Championships and was named Grade III Reserve Champion. This year I returned and became the Grade III National Champion.” Across these various competitions, Rebecca partnered with several different Quarter Horses, as western performance and reining require very different types.

More recently, her focus has switched to the discipline of para dressage. “At the start of this year, Julia Battams offered me an individual performance plan for para dressage… and so my goal was to find a horse that I could ride in CPEDI2* events,” she explains.

ALONG CAME ZAC

Rebecca was introduced to Tonya Holdsworth-Rose, who had a horse she thought might make a suitable partner. “Zac is a 12-year-old show jumper for Tonya and her daughter Arianne. He came off the track via Eliza Park to them and they retrained him. Originally Tonya took him for herself to ride, however, he turned out to be one of the strongest horses she’d ever ridden and so he became Arianne’s project. She took him on, and she’s worked so hard with him,” explains Rebecca.

Rebecca met Zac and started riding him in March this year, and by October they were at Nationals. “The versatility of the Thoroughbred is just unbelievable,” says Rebecca. “To turn around while he’s still jumping and start learning dressage, it’s unbelievable. It took us months to get his giraffe head down, because he was always looking for a jump. It’s a credit to Arianne for working so hard with him over the last 18 months to improve his dressage and getting him to where he is now.”

Rebecca says Zac has a trainable mind and a great work ethic. “How can you ever find a horse like him, who does so many disciplines and is so kind? It just doesn’t happen. Clearly, he could really excel at any discipline he wanted to… except for racing! He is such a wonderful horse.” Zac was certainly a little lacking on the track, having just five starts with no wins or placings to his name.

Rebecca says that while Zac had a reputation for being relatively strong when out show jumping, in the para dressage ring he’s been anything but. She believes he knows she doesn’t have a lot of muscle strength and reacts accordingly. “He’s a lot softer with me, whereas he’s a lot stronger once the show jumpers get on him. He knows the rider and he knows how he should behave.

“He’s also very gentle with me on the ground… I’ve washed him, brushed him, picked up his feet. Even when he rubs on me, he rubs on me differently to the way he would rub on someone else and nearly knock them over. He just knows.

“He just seems to connect. I quite often look into his eyes; he’s got a lovely kind eye. And that’s one of the things you look for in a horse, that beautiful, soft, kind eye. You know they’re with you and they’re never going to fight against you.”

FUTURE PLANS

The Australian Dressage Championships were not only Rebecca’s first para dressage event but also where she received her official FEI classification. “I’ve got a commander now for FEI (meaning Rebecca can have her tests called). I’m officially still a Grade II rider, however with a progressive condition like mine… for example, it’s bound to happen that my legs don’t work as well as what they did six months ago… so they will re-evaluate my grading in October 2025.”

“I find that flipping between
disciplines actually just
makes me a better rider.”

Although Rebecca’s focus has shifted from the western world to dressage, she is continuing to compete in ranching and reining events in between dressage competitions. “I’ll go to the Ranch Sorting National Championships (RSNCA) and I’ll go up to Dolby Queensland for the Australian Reining Breeders Classic, as well as some more para reining events in between. I find that flipping between disciplines actually just makes me a better rider. In reining, you’ve got 8 feet of rein and there’s no contact on the mouth. You’re throwing your feet forward to do a sliding stop, it’s completely different to dressage. I’m surprised my brain can keep up with all the disciplines, honestly!”

Part of Rebecca’s reasoning to continue with the western disciplines is to raise awareness, increase membership and help build pathways for other para riders looking to enter these sports. “It’s about making space for other people and making sure they’re catered for rather than just being left behind. Reining is an enjoyable sport for me, so I’m sure other people would enjoy it. It’s completely different to dressage, the movements are slower. Not all para equestrians can go straight into dressage. For a lot of people, para reining is a great pathway. Plus, there is a sporting pathway to the World Para Reining Championships… we hope to send an Australian team next year!”

Rebecca’s community contributions – not only via Reining Australia, but also her work through Rare Voices Australia – have not gone unnoticed. She was recently named a finalist in the 2023 VDSR (Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation) Active Melbourne Community Sportsperson of the Year award, as well as the Australian Community Awards.

Rebecca says competing in reining is also her release button: “I get to dictate my pattern and placement [in reining] so it’s just a different feel to the dressage arena. However, my hopes and my goals and my training are all set around dressage.”

Looking to the future, Rebecca is excited to attend her next para dressage event with Zac. She hopes that they can continue to grow as a combination and eventually step up from CPEDI2* to CPEDI3* level – which is the level required to qualify for international championships such as the FEI World Championships and Paralympics.

“I entered the Victorian Dressage Festival as soon as I got home, so we’ll back it up in December, and then in January there’ll hopefully be another para dressage event at Boneo. After that, we’ll probably do the Boneo CPEDI in April and then go to the Sydney CPEDI in June.

“My plan is to see how far we can get with Zac. If it happens that we can get his training to the point where he looks like a three-star horse, we’ll enter at that level. My long-term goal is the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany and then possibly the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. That’s the goal. Realistically, I’m just seeing how far I can push myself to find out what’s achievable that seems unachievable! That’s what it’s all about for me, as well as making pathways for other people.”

“It just gives you so much pleasure
and hope to work with horses.”

IMPORTANT PATHWAYS

Rebecca is grateful to all who have helped her on her para equestrian journey so far, in particular Julia and the team at EPA, and of course Tonya and Arianne who have provided her with the use of Zac.

“For people who have disabilities, in particular those with life-limiting disabilities like mine, it just gives you so much pleasure and hope to work with horses. It’s a massive distraction, in a good way, and it keeps me very mindful and in the moment. For me, it’s just such a quality of life… I could never repay everyone that’s helped me along the way.

“If it wasn’t for Equine Pathways Australia, there’d be a lot of us that would have given up even thinking about getting on a horse, let alone having a high-performance pathway laid out for us. All I can say is that team is amazing. Everyone from the volunteers to the coaches and board members… everyone is so super supportive, and we make a great little team. When we’re at competitions, we just pick each other up and reset for the next day to keep pushing on.”

Rebecca explains that both Sally Francis and Mary Longden coach her – Equestrian Life readers may recall they were the coaches that travelled with Australia’s gold medal-winning Virtus Global Games team this year. “We get so much benefit from their knowledge and experience; it just makes us better riders. The best thing that happened when I finished my first test at the Nationals was getting a big smile from Mary… that was gold, I took a snapshot of that in my brain.

“EPA has provided us with incredible skills; if I hadn’t had those two years with Julia and the team every month, I don’t think I would have got as far or gained the confidence that I have. EPA should be super proud, going from a handful of riders when they first started out in 2017 to seeing record para entries at these Nationals – many of which have a connection with EPA. There are not enough words in the world to thank Julia.”

While Rebecca gets a lot of thrill out of the incredible competition success she’s had since taking up riding, at the end of the day her love of the sport all comes back to the joy she gets from simply being around horses. “For me to work with a Thoroughbred who is just so talented and so giving… not every horse will accept you as a para rider, and I can tell you that because I’ve sat on a lot of them. Zac is definitely one of the horses that’s given me the most. He’s my heart horse.” EQ

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:

Stella & Bug Seize the Moment – Equestrian Life, November 2023

Age No Barrier to Roy’s Resurrection – Equestrian Life, November 2023