Aged 16 with four legs and a diet including a combination of carrots and peppermint treats – welcome to Showcase BC the ‘unofficial 26th athlete’ with the New Zealand Paralympic Team at Paris 2024.
The trusty steed of Para athlete Louise Duncan, the combination will proudly fly the New Zealand flag in the Para dressage Grade IV competition at the Chateau de Versailles
And make no mistake, the role of Showcase should not be underestimated in allowing the Levin-based Para equestrian rider to realise her dreams.
“I’d love to take all the credit, but I can’t,” she explains. “My team-mate is my horse and Showcase has been amazing. He always puts his best hoof forward and he’s really rocked everything that I’ve thrown at him.”
In a sport such as Para dressage, where the bond between rider and horse plays such a pivotal role in helping master the flawless execution required to impress the judges, Louise has come up trumps with Showcase.
Relationships can take years to nurture in a sport which is best described as the equine version of ballet. Factor in the added complexities of riders with a disability and that relationship can take even longer to embed.
Therefore, it may come as a surprise to discover that Louise and Showcase have only been working together for little over a year ahead of their appearance at the Paris 2024.
Louise, 36, has been riding before she could walk. Coming from a family steeped in the sport of equestrian – her mum, Frankie, is an Equestrian Sports New Zealand coach and Grand Prix dressage rider, and her father, Lloyd, a farrier – her road into her chosen sport was almost inevitable.
With a huge passion for dressage, she competed throughout her youth until her life was to turn upside down after contracting meningococcal meningitis as a teenager. In a coma and with little hope she defied medical predictions to not only walk but return to the saddle.
Post-illness, she lives with regular back pain and aura migraines, and has also suffered a number of mini strokes. Her balance has been impacted and gross coordination such as gripping the reins can also present its challenges – but despite facing hurtful criticism from those ignorant to her disability, she has thrived since embracing Para equestrian seven years ago.
Internationally classified in 2019 and campaigning for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games with Spirit (Wolkenstein BC) – the half-brother of Showcase – she missed out on realising her Paralympic dreams at the Covid-delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Riding Spirit was an “amazing experience” but following his well-earned retirement, she sought a new horse.
“Trying to find a horse with the budget I had was not easy,” explains Louise. “We tried a few horses which were unsuitable, and it was starting to feel like Paris was not going to happen.”
However, hope was to spring from a familiar source but in an unpredictable way for Louise.
Some years earlier after a conversation with horse breeder Chris Beach from Beachcroft Equestrian she had inquired about Showcase but under advice opted for his brother, Spirit.
However, during a trip to see Chris in Auckland she was presented an opportunity to ride her dream horse Showcase. Despite being fully aware the horse was not for sale, Louise intuitively knew within two minutes of sitting on the horse “this is exactly what I’m looking for.”
Chris said he wasn’t for sale because he was her heart horse, but added, ‘he picks his people and if I ever was to sell him, I would only sell him to you’.
Louise said she “adored” Showcase but without the requisite budget this appeared a pipe dream. But six weeks later she received a text from her mum saying come to the stables.
“I thought it was a bit weird because I go to the stables anyway,” explains Louise. “I pulled up the driveway and asked, ‘what is Showcase doing here’?’ My mum then said, ‘Chris and I were talking, I have used my savings and bought him for you as a surprise’, I couldn’t believe it.”
Excited to start working together, Louise acknowledged she was in a race against time for Paris 2024. It takes time to build a new combination. The first weeks were challenging, however within a month of working together, her coach, Andrea Raves, admitted the pair looked “magic” together.
Unfortunately, an accident slowed their development as Showcase spent six weeks at Massey Equine Hospital in Palmerston North but despite the limited preparation Louise claimed victory in their first two competitions together at the Central Districts Championships and in the Wairarapa before moving on to Cambridge for one of the marquee events of the season.
With international judges present the combination once again delivered with some excellent scoring before victory followed at the New Zealand Championships with the next stop a trip to Australia in February to further push for qualification.
Despite a challenging period ahead of the competition, which included a fraught reclassification process, her hugely supportive grandfather passing away the day selection was confirmed, and her horse attacked by a swarm of bugs, the duo finished third in Melbourne – a performance which earned New Zealand a slot at the Paris Paralympic Games.
With her selection later confirmed for Paris 2024, Louise is now relishing the prospect of “realising a dream true” and competing at the Paralympic Games.
“I am so humbled,” explains Louise. “I have such a great support team it really does take a village to get me here. Showcase is such an amazing creature, I feel totally empowered and very lucky to have that connection with him.”
To learn more about Para equestrian go here.
