Horses: the best medicine

So when Elizabeth Sobecki, Lobethal, flew to France in August to represent Australia at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, you could be forgiven for thinking she was just one of the small group who achieve that dream.

Elizabeth, competing on the stunning Andalusian stallion Hatero de PB, finished in the top 10 of her discipline - a remarkable feat.

But what has made her achievement all the more special are the hurdles she has tackled to get there.

Just before her 16th birthday, a young Warmblood mare took off on her, resulting in whiplash.

A subsequent scan revealed 40 lesions in her brain, and Elizabeth was diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

Two years later she was diagnosed with fibrous dysplasia, a degenerative bone disease.

"I was terrified; you see MS as old people in wheelchairs who can't feed themselves," she said.

"And I wondered if I'd ever be able to play sport, I played soccer in school, and would I still be able to ride, walk, talk, anything like that."

Understandably, her diagnosis was hard to come to terms with.

"For a little bit I was quite down and just shut off everything, but it didn't take me long to realise that that was no fun," she said.

"And then I thought: oh well, stuff it, you say I can't - I'll show you I can.

"I got out of bed, got a positive attitude, got back on a horse and that's really what started to help my mobility get better again."

Elizabeth has been through a number of relapses where she suffered optic neuritis, which causes partial loss of vision.

"I went blind, and even just sitting on a horse was enough to make me feel better, even though I couldn't see much," she said.

Elizabeth's chosen discipline is dressage, which she took up competitively at 13 after previously trying pony club and eventing.

"I had a young Thoroughbred chestnut mare and she was absolutely mental to jump, so I gave dressage a crack," she said

"I absolutely fell in love with the sport, and really never looked back."

After her MS diagnosis, Elizabeth's first competition was at the Riding for the Disabled Association nationals, where she competed on a Quarter Horse-Australian Stock Horse loaned to her by a friend.

Following the purchase of a "fancy" young Warmblood which she did not click with, Elizabeth was offered a ride on one of her coach, Ruth Schneeberger's horses, which she negotiated to buy "nearly instantly".

"That horse was Charlie - Ponderosa Stud Lucarno - and he was sensational," Elizabeth said.

"He qualified for the Paralympic Games in London 2012, and we got picked as the reserve combination."

But in a cruel twist of fate, a week before entries closed for the WEG qualifier, Charlie was found to have a navicular cyst - rendering him permanently lame.

"Only a month before that he got reserve champion at nationals; he didn't even blink, he didn't say anything was wrong, he just went and did it," she said.

At the nationals, Elizabeth had thought Charlie was a "bit off".

Sharing the stable aisle with her was SA dressage rider Heather Currie, who overheard Elizabeth's concerns.

"She came up to me and said if you have any trouble, just come ride Harry (Hatero de PB). I thought, she's probably just being nice, she'll forget about it," Elizabeth said.

"But I got a phone call a couple of weeks later and she said, do you still want to have a ride on Harry? He'll be great for you, he'll take you to WEG, I know he will."

Elizabeth and Harry qualified for WEG in December 2013.

A month later, they competed at Boneo Park, Vic, and won.

The following month was the final WEG selection event in Sydney.

"It was really our last chance to secure a spot on the top four ranking to be considered to be picked for WEG," Elizabeth said.

With their first two tests scoring 69 per cent, and over 70pc on the last day, the pair were ranked second in Australia, behind London Paralympics gold medallist Joan Formosa.

It was a long wait until August when the final team was picked.

"And then I got the phone call I was waiting for," Elizabeth said.

"It was very emotional.

"It's a milestone in my life."

* Full report in Stock Journal, November 13, 2014 issue.