Melanie Wienand: From Auction Rider to Aspiring Paralympian After Traumatic Brain Injury

On 12 November 2011, Melanie Wienand's life changed forever. A celebrated auction horse rider for the Hanoverian society in Verden, Wienand fell off a horse and sustained such a traumatic brain injury, that she had to fight for her life. Wienand came out of the dark tunnel after nine months of strenuous rehabilitation, her love for horses unwavered. She has returned to the saddle and dreams of the 2024 Paralymipcs.

Auction Rider

In 2011 the then 31-year old Wienand was living on the fast lane as a professional rider for the Verden Auction centre, a job she picked up in 2008. One month before her accident she piloted auction horse Lemony's Nicket to a record sales price of 900,000 euro. The 3-year old sold to Harmony Sport horses in the U.S.A.

On the tragic day of the November auction, Wienand fell off a youngster that shied and bolted from the flower decorations in the arena. Three thousand people witnessed the accident. Doctors in the audience gave her first aid until an ambulance arrived after which she was rushed to the hospital in Rotenburg in critical condition.

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