Stinna was born without legs. At age six, her parents took her to physical therapy riding to strengthen her core muscles, and that's when her passion for horses began. She says that she was “always driven to be the best version of a rider, preferably better than all the others”, and in this sense, she refused to consider herself a handicapped rider. Her disability was never an excuse or a limitation. Whenever she had to face an obstacle, she would persist until it was overcome.
After years of hard work and dedication, in 2016, Stinna competed in the Rio De Janeiro Paralympic Games with her partner, Smarties the horse. The pair won the Bronze medal at the Individual Championship. Two years later, her personal best performance led to a Gold medal for Stinna and Smarties at the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018. This was Smartie's final win before retirement. In 2019 Stinna also went on to win the coveted “Pressalit's Keep Living Award” as Paralympic Athlete of the Year.
Credit: Emily Fought, Cowgirl