Gengis
Khan Partners Paralympic Rider
Archive: October 2002
Gengis
Khan, (pictured above), far removed in character from his
namesake, is a gentle,
sensitive horse. No one knows this more than Deb Lewin. Paralyzed
in a car accident three years ago, Deb, a former professional
hockey player from South Africa, is an active horsewoman. In
conjunction with Equest - a therapeutic riding organization
- she competes regularly in dressage and recently needed a new
horse to partner her. Cristina Boggio her instructor, knew of
such a horse, a Lusitano stallion belonging to a friend.
"He's
wonderful and I trust him completely," she told Deb. "Do you
want to give it a try?" Deb agreed and went to Fort Worth, TX,
where Peter Van Borst trains Gengis Khan at the Interagro
Lusitanos' headquarters.
"Deb
cannot use her left side but she balances herself even though
she's one-sided. It's amazing what she does. A lot of horses
are bothered by an unbalanced rider," said Cristina, explaining
that they may be confused by the unequal weight and pressure
distribution. "The horse has to be honest and be able to figure
out that she cannot use her leg one side. The horse is a big
ally - they have to pay attention and to concentrate. I had
seen Gengis Khan's character and knew he was a gentleman."
Deb
watched Cristina ride the horse before gamely climbing on board
herself. "Just to think she was on a stallion made her nervous,"
said Cristina. "Gengis Khan was a little big for her and she
could have lost her balance. I rode him first - but he was a
different horse with Deb. He understood totally the situation.
It was amazing."
Though
Deb has only been riding three years she was due to compete
in the Sydney Paralympic Games but was prevented from doing
so after a riding accident with another horse gave her a concussion.
Now, fully recovered, Cristina hopes that Gengis Khan will
help Deb to go to the next Paralympics in Athens, Greece, 2004.
In order to get there she needs to compete in USDF competitions
against able-bodied riders. Deb and Cristina are already working
on a dressage routine to music. "We had planned to use country
music," said Cristina, "But we soon realized this horse is never
going to be country." A lot of Paralympic riders use quarter
horses and even Thoroughbreds but Cristina is confident that
the Lusitano is particularly suitable for the sport. "Lusitanos
are wonderful," she said. "They have a quality of movement -
the collection is natural which makes it easier for the rider.
But I think most of all it is the seriousness of the breed and
the fact that they are very willing to please."
