When Danielle arrived at The Riding Patch for her first Equine Pathways Australia clinic on 22 & 23 November 2025, she carried years of hope, determination, and a quiet belief that one day she might ride again. What she didn’t expect was just how life-changing that weekend would become.
Only weeks earlier, she’d visited the September SA clinic to meet Julia and see the program in action. The moment she left, she messaged:
“I’m honestly still buzzing… it feels real that it can actually happen! Bring on the clinic.”
By the time clinic weekend arrived, vest in hand, wheelchair loaded, heart racing – she was more than ready.
And what followed was nothing short of extraordinary.
Danielle’s Story
Danielle grew up as a competitive rider, working full time, and running a small equine business. Horses were her world. But life changed dramatically when, without explanation, her body began shutting down. Years of symptoms, hospital stays and uncertainty followed until specialists finally pieced together the diagnoses:
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and the comorbidities that came with them.
By August 2024, Danielle became an incomplete paraplegic and a full-time wheelchair user following spinal nerve damage and ongoing complications. She lost her licence, her ability to work, and the life she once knew.
But she never let go of her horses.
“They are my legs, my power. I can feel normal and absolutely myself on them.”
It was Danielle’s best friend, a para rider, who recommended Equine Pathways Australia. From that moment, everything began to shift.
Her First EPA Clinic: “I have no words.”
Across two days, Danielle worked with the coaches and allied health team, rebuilding confidence, rediscovering movement, and taking the step, she had dreamed of for years: getting back in the saddle.
Jack, the horse allocated to her, became her partner for this milestone.
“Jack is the man. He took me through that first ride back after years in the making.”
When the weekend wrapped up, she wrote:
“I’m honestly on cloud nine… this clinic brought all my dreams back to reality. After all the medical chaos, those dreams can still come true.”
Why Horses Matter So Much
For Danielle, being around horses means one thing above all:
Happiness. Pure and simple.
She describes it as feeling whole, complete, and entirely herself. Her home herd, Tilly and Drift, remains her heart. And now, thanks to EPA, she can work toward the future she thought she had lost.
Goals for the Future
EPA has opened a new pathway for Danielle. Her biggest dream?
To return to competition.
And after seeing her determination at her first clinic, no one doubts that she will.
A New Chapter Begins
The November clinic wasn’t just a return to riding. It was a return to identity, community, possibility and joy.
Danielle’s journey is a powerful reminder of why EPA exists, because with the right team, the right support and the right horse, a dream that feels lost can become real again.
Thank you, Racing SA, for making programs like this possible.
