Alex Goldsack, Charlotte Aroa and Emma Wilton are competing at the New Zealand Special Olympics from 10-15 December.
Three very special equestrians are counting down to a national competition in Christchurch that is nothing short of inspirational. Charlotte Aroa (26), Alex Goldsack (31) and Emma Wilton (22) are competing at the New Zealand Special Olympics from 10-15 December. And according to Charlotte, they can’t wait.
“I love being with athletes and trying my best,” says Charlotte.
The three athletes are part of a cohort of 40 equestrians from groups in the Bay of Islands, Hibiscus Coast, North Harbour, Manukau, Manawatū, Wellington, Marlborough, North Canterbury and Canterbury. They make up 1200 athletes with an intellectual disability competing in 10 different sports including swimming, athletics and ball sports.
The Waikato equestrian group manager Kara Lockhart has attended three National Special Olympics events and two World Special Olympics events, and is their coach. She is also the chairperson of Special Olympics Waikato. Alex is coached via video as he lives in the Bay of Islands, while her daughter Charlotte, and Emma – who is competing for the first time – are based at the Waikato Equestrian Centre in Hamilton.
“To have a go at their chosen sport with the opportunity to win medals is so rewarding for them. As long as they do their best and try really hard, then that’s all we can ask or expect. But they all go down with the expectation they’re going to win medals.”
Special Olympian Charlotte Aroa and her horse Motu.
The forty Special Olympic riders from across the country will be matched with horses provided by the Christchurch Riding for the Disabled, at the venue for the equestrian competitions.
“The horses are allocated based on what we coaches have told them our athletes need. It’s very challenging for the athletes to get on a new horse they’re not familiar with. And most will get only 10 to 15 minutes to ride before their first test,” says Kara.
The equestrian athletes are grouped in similar ability levels regardless of their age or gender, as the point is to create an environment where they can compete like against like. They learn tests, and will compete across the week in dressage, group equitation, and a working trail featuring obstacles and poles. She says group equitation can often be the most challenging.
“By definition, our riders don’t follow instructions particularly well and there’s no set test to group equitation. They just get told what to do when they’re there. So, it can be a little bit like herding cats,” she laughs.
“Volunteers are a big part of supporting the event. Good people help guide them and we often use cones to mark out a figure of eight or a circle in they either walk, trot or canter depending on which grade they are in.”
Special Olympics torch run.
The athletes will travel to Christchurch with the Waikato Club coaches and volunteers at a 1:4 ratio, will stay at the athlete village and will be taken by bus to the competition venue. For many, it is the first time away from home and their families.
“It is a really big thing for them personally, and they grow so much in their independence and ability to get on in life. For athletes with intellectual disabilities, it’s huge to be able to go away from mum and dad and your usual surroundings to somewhere like that, where you’re in dorms, you’re up early, and back late,” she says.
“These athletes face a lot of challenges in their lives. To be able to offer them what we can with Special Olympics is so huge and they’re so grateful and kind of inspiring too. They just get on the horse and do it.”
Kara says that families who join the event often establish lifelong friendships, and get to have some much needed fun and downtime.
“For some of them, this is the only opportunity they get to see their children competing or challenged in any way. There aren’t a lot of opportunities for athletes such as ours outside Special Olympics, unless they’re part of a para-athlete, which very few of them are.
“Being a part of these athletes’ lives has really changed and shaped my life too, quite apart from having a child with an intellectual disability, but learning to navigate what that looks like personally,” she says.
A recent highlight for Kara, was as a Special Olympics torch bearer when the Flame of Hope passed through the Waikato on its way from Whangarei to Christchurch as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Relay.
“I was supposed to arrive in the Police Boat, but the storm meant the Waikato River was in flood. So, I arrived in a police car with a couple of police dogs which was, you know, really cool. And our athletes loved that sort of thing. They’re all very excited about seeing the torch again at the opening ceremony in Christchurch in a few weeks’ time.”
Athletes who successfully compete at the national Special Olympics are eligible to compete at the 2027 World Special Olympics in Chile, if they have the funding and can demonstrate their ability to cope with being away from home for the three-week-long international competition.
“I wouldn’t have gone to Berlin or Abu Dhabi without the World Special Olympics, and I hope I can get to Santiago for 2027, which would be really cool.”
Meanwhile, daughter Charlotte is counting down the days as the relay torch heads to the mainland.
“Special Olympics is one of my favourite things and I can’t wait to go to Christchurch,” says Charlotte.
Special Olympics New Zealand has been rotated around the country every four years since 1983, when Grant and Wendy Quinn formed the first New Zealand team to compete at the Special Olympics World Summer Games. This initial team, consisting of four swimmers, blazed the trail for the organisation, which held its inaugural Special Games in 1985. (Source: Special Olympics NZ).
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