Paralympian Sue-Ellen Lovett’s new book, Johno and the Blind Chick
For Paralympian Sue-Ellen Lovett, the bond between horse and human gives love, trust and meaning to life’s journey.
SPECTATORS watching Sue-Ellen Lovett ride her horse Johno generally end up crying.
“When I ride people have tears of joy because they’re so moved at the bond between a horse and a human,” Sue-Ellen says.
“It’s hard to put into words, but they see the love and joy.”
Sue-Ellen and her 18-hand, nine-year-old Hanoverian horse are not your average equine-human love story, which is made clear in a new book Johno and the Blind Chick, penned by Sue-Ellen.
Even before the book hit the press, the two-time Paralympian and Grand Prix-level dressage rider was well known throughout Australian riding circles.
Sue-Ellen grew up on an 8500ha livestock property in Mudgee, NSW. She inherited the genetic disorder retinitis pigmentosa from her mother, eventually losing her sight entirely and given her first guide dog in 1981.
Even as a toddler, though, she went riding with her father, sitting on a cushion on the horse while he mustered.
“I have always ridden. From the youngest age it was the most amazing, magical experience, like a light inside me. I would get on a horse and smile and it wouldn’t come off my face,” she recalls.
“As a child I’d ride bareback. It was always pure trust, blind faith — pardon the reference.”
As a teen, Sue-Ellen began six-bar showjumping and went on to compete at the highest levels, even against able-bodied riders. She competed at the Atlanta and Sydney Paralympics, and she was a member of the Australian team that won the bronze medal at the 1999 World Dressage Championships in Denmark.
She has also completed 10 charity fundraising rides, totalling more than 16,000km, and raising more than $3.2 million.
The first was in 1984, when she rode 1200km from Mudgee to Melbourne and raised $36,000 for Guide Dogs. The most recent was in 2018, when she rode 800km around the Dubbo district to raise $80,000 for the oncology unit of Dubbo Base Hospital, (Sue-Ellen has conquered cancer along her journey).
Most of the rides were with her mare Mudgee, who even walked the red carpet and travelled in an elevator with Sue-Ellen at a black tie event celebrating her charity achievements.
“Mudgee would go anywhere with me, even on to the balcony of the Sydney Town Hall,” she adds.
As intriguing as Sue-Ellen’s life story is, Johno and the Blind Chick only briefly touches on these details, with her autobiography set to be released in 2021.
Instead, the book is based on a Facebook page started about a year ago when Sue-Ellen’s husband, agricultural teacher Matthew, purchased Johno for her.
Written from the perspective of Johno, the Facebook page (of the same name as the book) has daily posts showing how Johno helps his rider accomplish her goals and overcome adversity.
“From the start Johno had my back and looked after me,” Sue-Ellen explains. “Someone reading the posts suggested I should write a book about our relationship and so it’s not a technical, horse-focused book but a story of laughter and tears.
“There’s not enough love, joy and kindness in the world and so I wanted this to be happy, positive stories about inclusivity.”
Sue-Ellen rides Johno most days of the week, but not on overcast days because she uses the sun’s warmth to orient her around the arena on her farm near Dubbo.
About once a month she travels more than six hours to her horse trainer in the NSW Southern Highlands, who teaches her classical dressage that is a “softer and gentler” style of training, “more ask, less tell”.
Having retired her sixth guide dog last year, Sue-Ellen now has a helper — thanks to the National Disability Insurance Scheme — who aids in shopping through to grooming Johno.
So why is it that people who, generally, have faced enormous adversity are the ones who find the most joy?
“I can’t expect anyone else to make my life a quality life so I make sure I get joy out of even the smallest things,” Sue-Ellen says.
“We only have one go at this. I intend to land in my grave with a glass of champagne, having had a bloody good ride.”
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