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Para Equestrian Jan Pike and Ex-Racehorse Pinky - A Perfect Match!

Published on Monday, June 6, 2011 in General
Pinky and Jan are working hard to achieve their dreams
This was Jan's life before Pinky...
...And this is Jan's life with Pinky!

 It's not long now and inspirational para equestrian competitor, Jan Pike and her trainer, Catherine Shelley, will be off the Hartpury, UK for the Para Equestrian Championships. They have also been invited to compete at the Bishop Burten Competition two weeks later, in York. 

As mentioned in previous articles about Jan, her goal is to compete at the London Olympics with her lovely 'dancing' partner, ex-racehorse, Pinky.  Jan's dedication is shining through as she puts in the hard yards with her training.  She recently flew to Melbourne - where Catherine and Pinky are based - and had some brilliant training sessions, despite the fact it was 16° and raining! Of this training session, Jan says, "poor Catherine was nursing a bad cold but kept on keeping on. Pinky and I had some major breakthroughs with regard to our accuracy. He is an amazing horse and just keeps improving. It’s a very exciting and positive time for 'Team Pink'! The National PE Coach and Team Physio attended on the weekend and added valuable input to our training regime. We also had a visit from the PE Team Psychologist who set me up with some great relaxation exercises."

A match made in heaven, Pinky and Jan are well on the way to achieving their goals, with great results at early competitions and improvement all the time during training sessions, this pair are headed for great things - as Jan's motto says 'alone I stagger - together we glide!' 

Jan can't say enough about how wonderful Pinky is, "Pinky used to be a racehorse.  He retired in 2010 after winning a few races, but his heart wasn’t in it. He had a much more specialised race to run. The track Pinky now runs down is the road to the Paralympics. Instead of representing a syndicate he will one day be representing Australia. Pinky is only 7 years old and has personality PLUS!!  I used to be a spectator, then I sat on a horse and became a participant. Pinky gives me the freedom to walk, run and dance. He gives me the courage and determination to join him on the road to the London Paralympics. He’s my soul mate and my best friend."

Pinky and Jan are putting in a lot of hard work to achieve their dream, but their biggest handicap is finances.  They need $10,000 to complete this year's training and competition schedule. Jan is appealing for help to continue their campaign and is asking if people could donate to their training fund and is grateful for all donations, even the smallest amounts help.  As Jan says, "small donations buy carrots! Every little contribution is greatly appreciated and it all adds up"

For more details contact Jan via email gpik0206@bigpond.net.au or phone on 0416525192.

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