Zoe Vorenas is back in Australia after an injury to Verona ended her Rio Paralympic campaign. Understandably devastated, Zoe took a well-earned holiday before returning home to continue chasing her goals.

By Zoe Vorenas

I know, I know, it has been far too long since my last blog update. To be fair, however, I think I needed the time to process everything that has happened, and getting back into the swing of things back home before I felt ready to write about it.

I’ll start at the beginning. I arrived in Holland on the 27th of December. I was prepared for freezing cold temperatures, and walked out of the airport rugged up like an onion. I was pleasantly surprised by the 15°C weather. It was grey and gloomy, but the rain held off for the drive to Stal Krom. I settled in pretty quickly; it was honestly like coming home. It was straight back into training for Verona and I, as it wasn’t long until our first qualifier in the first week of April, in Deauville. Everything was running well, Verona and I attended a bit of a “practice” event and came away with positive results. I joined the local gym, and really worked hard to better myself so that I was able to ride to the best of my abilities. Holland is absolutely beautiful, anyone who has been will tell you that the people are friendly, the countryside gorgeous and the lifestyle… well, I think I know where I’d like to live one day.
 

However, sometimes life throws some pretty unfair and unexpected things at you. By now, I thought I would’ve had my share of bad luck for the next little while, but perhaps not. VV sustained an injury in her stable, and thus I made the decision to withdraw from the campaign. The emotions were overwhelming and honestly, I don’t think I can explain the devastation. You do everything you can to make sure these things don’t occur - from a safe stable environment to protective wear. We give our horses the best of care, above ourselves, even… but in the end, horses are horses, and they tend to find a way to do these things. My team and I had worked tirelessly from day one towards this one goal. However I refuse to see this as the end, and as time wasted. I had an absolutely amazing time in Holland. I experienced so many different things, met new friends and as usual, felt at home at Stal Krom.
 

And so I headed home to recoup. To gather myself, figure out what the next step was, and what I wanted to do now with Rio gone. I went overseas for a holiday in June, over to London and Paris for a month. It was a non-horsey holiday and it was exactly what I needed. I’ve returned fresh and ready to go ahead.
 

So what are the plans from here? Well, I have this lovely little up and coming horse called Minty. A little rescue that I picked up who was in desperate need of a good lot of feed, love and patience. Minty has been a part of my fur family since November, but has recently really turned a corner and come out of his fear. He’s a talented little horse, but the most noticeable thing about him is how he just tries, and tries, and tries. He’s always eager to learn, to please, and to do his best. He loves learning and I don’t think I’ve ever met a horse with such an incredible work ethic. Now that we’ve built that trust, I’ve been able to take him out to a handful of competitions and he has managed to walk away with some pleasing and encouraging results. We attended our local YVDC Club Day today, and for the first time rode the Elementary test…. Very happy with the little Mint!
 

My youngster, Alfie, had a trip to the breakers for a couple of weeks just to start very basic things and to ease him into the breaking process. He’s definitely another one that I’m excited to get going under saddle.
 

It has taken me a while to find my “happiness” since being home. Such disappointment after having already fought through so many set backs, and personal issues have a way of knocking you flat. For anyone facing any sort of struggle, or who has been through some kind of experience that has just drained you of energy and strength (I mean we are horse people, we’ve all had a brush with it!), just remember that taking a step back for a brief period is sometimes enough to help you find that motivation once again.
 
“Take a deep breath, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.”

Special mention to my fantastic sponsors for helping me through the hard times. Couldn’t do it without you all xx

All photos supplied by Zoe Vorenas.
 

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