Dream comes true for Horowhenua rider Louise Duncan with Paralympics selection

Louise Duncan and Showcase BC in action. Photo / Libby Law Photography.

A dream has come true for New Zealand para-equestrian rider Louise Duncan, although news that she has gained selection for the Paris Paralympic Games came with a tinge of sadness.

Her grandfather and biggest supporter Ivan Johnston, 92, is gravely ill in Palmerston North Hospital and it is likely he will not get to see her compete in Paris in late August.

Johnston had kept fine health until suffering a fall at a rest home last month and his health had quickly deteriorated since.

Duncan was at his bedside at the hospital with family on Wednesday morning. She had been able to tell him the news that she had gained selection for Paris.

“He was over the moon,” she said.

The Levin-based rider’s selection was announced by Paralympics New Zealand on Wednesday on the back of solid performances in qualifying events on both sides of the Tasman, including an overall third placing at a recent Melbourne event contested by Australian Paralympic riders.

Louise Duncan and Showcase BC are off to Paris. Photo / Libby Law Photography

“It did come as a surprise. I’m pinching myself. It’s a dream come true,” she said.

“I just hope it inspires other riders and athletes to compete.”

The 35-year-old had given herself every chance to qualify for Paris, including the costly trip to Melbourne with her horse Showcase BC, in an attempt to score well in front of an international judging panel.

That decision to travel to Melbourne proved crucial to her gaining Paris selection. The trip also confirmed that Showcase BC could handle the travel and the hype and pressure of a large event, which augured well for Paris.

“He coped really well with the travel and the atmosphere. It was our first offshore competition and Showcase was a superstar despite our few glitches,” she said.

“We were quite lucky because he had a couple of large welts come up. It could have been a beetle or a bug,” she said.

Duncan was fortunate the welts did not worsen enough to raise concern from competition veterinarians, or she may have been ruled ineligible to compete.

“We were lucky they didn’t get any bigger or burst,” she said.

The job now is to ready herself and her horse to peak for Paris, without risking injury. It is likely most of the preparation will be done in the arena at home.

Louise Duncan and Showcase BC. Photo / Libby Law Photography

Duncan and Showcase were a relatively new combination but had gelled quickly, winning the Dressage Central Districts Championship Show at their first outing and won the Land Rover Horse of the Year Grade IV title this year.

A win at the National Championships gave Duncan the encouragement she needed to hunt down Paris 2024 selection.

“Showcase is a little pocket rocket who always tries to please you 101 per cent. He is very athletic, has wonderful paces and is one of the most sensitive horses I have ridden,” she said.

Duncan contracted meningococcal meningitis in 2005, aged 17, while a student at Horowhenua College.

Her shoulder was sore but the complaint was easily explained away as she had been riding all day. She woke later that night feeling ill, a complaint easily explained by a stomach bug doing the rounds.

But when her mother Frankie noticed a red rash on her eyelids, arms, hands and the soles of her feet, she rushed her to Palmerston North Hospital.

Duncan’s body was beginning to shut down. Doctors could not give an assurance she would survive. She continued having strokes and seizures while in an induced coma.

An agonising 10 days later, she woke up but could not speak. She was paralysed from the neck down. And so began a long and painful rehabilitation process.

Through frustration, she persisted. She learned to walk and talk again. And ride a horse again.

Para dressage rider Louise Duncan and husband Justin Duncan.

While she looks “normal”, her health issues are ongoing, including right-side weakness and some issues with memory. She has to be helped from her horse after competing.

She suffered another minor stroke last year and spent two weeks in hospital, and is susceptible to shivers called cerebral irritations.

All four of her limbs are reduced in function and, as her trunk is impaired, her balance and co-ordination are also affected.

“My dexterity is not good and I get shivers in my legs sometimes when I am riding which leads to a loss of power,” she said.

Duncan was relatively new to parasport, only being classified in 2017. It had just taken time for her to “get in the right head space”.

“It took a good 10 years for me to accept that things were going to be different to before, so I was late into the sport. I was just so pleased to be able to enjoy my pony and have compensating aids to help me make my riding fun and enjoyable again without pain and the frustration of losing my stirrups,” she said.

Paralympics requires medical records to be updated regularly to classify riders. There are varying classes depending on the degree of disability of an athlete, and often riders are reclassified. Classes range from G5 to G1.

Duncan competes in the G4 class.

Equestrian Sports New Zealand chief executive Julian Bowden said the organisation was proud and excited to have Duncan named for Paris.

“We know how hard she has worked and it will be fantastic to see the silver fern back in Para equestrian for the first time since London 2012,” he said.

Levin hairdresser Louise Duncan.

Out of the saddle Duncan is a full-time hairdresser. She has her own salon, which she opened in 2013.