Wicklow stables makes US Paralympian Amy Dixon’s dream come true

A Wicklow equestrian centre made a dream come true for American Paralympian Amy Dixon last week.

The US National Paracyling Champion, who represented the US in para-triathlon at Tokyo 2020, has a degenerative disease called ‘uveitis’ which has significantly reduced her vision.

The disease is expected to continue to take away her sight and so Amy created a bucket list of things to see before she loses her eyesight completely.

Among these experiences was riding an Irish horse in Ireland, and she so happened to be in Ireland last week to speak at a Dublin conference for leading Mayo-based eye care provider Thea Pharma.

Kieran Morrin and his team at Wicklow’s Country Cottage Stables in Enniskerry had just the steed in handsome Connemara pony Baby Frodo, a five-year-old star so bright he even has his own Instagram page at @seven.wonders.of.the.whorl.

They even, somehow, organised unseasonably bright and dry weather, giving Amy the most incredible views of the Wicklow hills and valleys, and the mighty Powerscourt Waterfall, which was aptly in full flow as they passed on Friday.

Speaking through a broad smile to Instagram followers afterwards, she said: “Today I got to tick an important item off my list of things to see before I lose my eyesight.

“It was an absolutely splendid day out there. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud on the sky. Everything was lush and green. It is exactly how I have envisioned it. I’m going to have that picture in my head for the rest of my life

“I am so grateful and so happy right now. Thank you so much to Thea Pharma for making it happen and to Kieran and everyone at Country Cottage Stables.”

Still smiling days later, Amy shared why she had added this experience to her bucket list.

“Growing up I was in 4H and pony club and my best friend Pippa was from Ireland and she had a Connemara pony,” she explained.

Enchanted by Pippa and her Irish pony, Amy became absorbed in everything about rural Ireland and soon harboured dreams of “galloping across green fields and over hedges and stone walls”. But that was before she started to lose her sight aged 22.

“Kieran was so nervous beforehand,” said Amy. “He had never had a blind rider and so he had students lined up as out riders, and was just so safe and overly prepared.

“He was really pleased when he realised we could do so much more. I have vision in the centre, just not peripherally, so the biggest problem was low hanging branches, which everyone did such a good job of calling out for me.”

She added: “Kieran has owned the stables for more than 20 years and is just so experienced and good with people. He made me so welcome and so happy.”

Looking back, as Amy read more about horse riding in the UK and Ireland she was further inspired by England’s Grand National and the tale of National Velvet, a book that became a film about a 12-year-old girl who beat the odds to ride her own horse in the Grand National during a time when it was unheard of for women to be jockeys.

Her determination to overcome barriers mirrors Amy’s outlook, as when her health deteriorated after Tokyo 2020 to the point where she could no longer run, she switched from triathlon to cycling on the track and is now “working my tail off” to prepare for the US Paralympics qualifiers in February.

She does so full of joy after her trip to Wicklow, which went “above and beyond” her expectations.

“If I lived in Dublin I would be in the car first thing every Saturday morning on the way to Wicklow. It is such a beautiful place,” she added.