Willinga Park Welcomes Paralympian Emma Booth

Willinga Park welcomes Paralympian Emma Booth who will continue her dressage training at Willinga Park ahead of Tokyo 2020 with a new horse, Galliano, an 8-year-old Warmblood.

“We are so excited to have Emma as a Willinga Park Ambassador,” says Terry Snow of Willinga Park.

“She is an absolute inspiration, and her passion and views on life are infectious.”

Emma was obsessed with horses from an early age. With raw talent and a horse she won in a contest, she worked her way up to become a horse trainer for international dressage rider Holger Schulze.

In 2013, a near-fatal car accident caused paraplegia, but just seven months later she was riding again and training for the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team.

Emma and her horse Zidane competed in two events at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, placing fifth in the mixed dressage individual championship and ninth in the team open with teammates Sharon Jarvis, Lisa Martin and Katie Umback. Emma again represented Australia at the World Equestrian games in Tyrone 2018, where she finished fourth.

Emma has a great chance to be a Paralympic competitor at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games with her horse Zidane, but he is getting older.

Both Emma and the team at Willinga Park are looking to the future, with her new horse, Galliano, arriving at Willinga Park where he will commence training under Olympian and dressage coach Brett Parbery.

“We look forward to having Emma here at Willinga Park on a regular basis to continue her training with Galliano, who we hope is her next superstar,” says Mr Snow.

“Australia has some of the best equestrian athletes in the world, and we aim to help athletes like Emma make their dreams come true and elevate Australia’s standing in the equestrian world.”

Supplied by Willinga Park