A STAR of the riding world is celebrating her latest Paralympics triumph.

Broad Hinton riding instructor Anne Dunham has added a team gold from Sydney to an international haul of medals dating back to 1993.

Her speciality is dressage a set series of intricate movements which demand great skill from both horse and rider.

Anne, 52, has multiple sclerosis and has used a wheelchair for 20 years, but dislikes being referred to as brave.

For her, MS is merely an obstacle like any other something to be overcome.

She said: "When you become disabled, your life changes. A door shuts but another one opens.

"It's up to you where you go from there. You can give up or you can find a way forward. I am just living that's what you tend to do.

"I did have five years when I couldn't ride. It was before I had drugs to relax the muscle spasms I get.

"But afterwards I got back up side saddle and then I got back astride."

A riding enthusiast for most of her life, her series of accolades began with individual gold and team silver medals in the World Champion-ships in 1994.

Subsequent triumphs included the team gold and individual bronze in the Atlanta Paralympics of 1996 and team and individual golds at last year's World Championships.

Apart from winning gold, Anne's abiding memory of Sydney will be the Olympic spirit.

She said: "The atmosphere was absolutely amazing what stunned me was Palestine and Israel marching side by side.

"You wouldn't have believed they were at war and busy destroying Jerusalem.

"The complete friendship of all the athletes living together in one big village really struck me.

"There were people from former Yugo-slavia and the states created after the Soviet Union broke up.

"We were all out there competing, and there was just a huge atmosphere of friendship, sportsmanship and true co-operation."

For her latest triumph Anne, like all competitors, rode a horse supplied by the organisers of the competition.

Anne's was a sturdy Australian pony called Charlie Brown, which she describes as "one of my best mounts and one of the smallest but a very good pony".

Dressage is the only equestrian event at the paralympics, with competitors competing in various categories according to the severity of their disability.

As well as winning the team gold, Great Britain took five out of nine available individual gold medals.

Anne, who is widowed and has a 24-year-old daughter, Amber, went to Sydney partly thanks to the sponsorship of countless friends and local businesses.

She said: "I'm very grateful, and I want to thank everybody in the area for what they did.

"I had to do quite a lot of fundraising and people have been absolutely amazing.

"There are too many companies and people to mention individually, but lots helped."

Unlike athletes taking part in the Olympics, which generally immediately precede the Paralympics, Paralympians often have to raise much of their travelling costs on their own initiative.

Anne said in July when the fundraising drive was in full swing: "Come hell or high water, we will be going."