As an engineer with the Royal Australian Air Force Rachel Kerrigan saw active service with the International Coalition Against Terrorism in 2002, five years later a series of life changing events triggered trauma from her deployment and she was medically discharged. In 2010 she was diagnosed with PTSD and suffered a stress induced stroke. The turning point to recovery was the ever present support from her 8 year old daughter Kiara, who encouraged her to take up adaptive sports and apply for the 2016 Invictus Games.

Rachel has been an Invictus Games competitor, coach, ambassador for the 2018 Sydney Invictus Games and was previously responsible for bringing new veterans into adaptive sports programs in Australia, as a veteran engagement specialist for Invictus Australia. This year she is a special advisor to The Conversation a forum held by the Invictus Games Foundation, which aims so share best practices for the recovery wounded injured and sick service personnel.

Rachel has had a lifetime connection to horses, and today we also tell the story of the role equine therapy played in Rachel overcoming PTSD and learning to rebuild trust.

This Invictus Games 2023 series charts the journey of current and former Invictus Games athletes from a range of countries covering their military careers, their deployment histories and the injuries they sustained. We talk about their experience of life changing injury, and their remarkable physical and emotional recover through training and competing in adaptive sports and through the Invictus Games.

https://invictusaustralia.org

https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org

Invictus Games Dusseldorf https://invictusgames23.de

https://montyroberts.com

Equine Encounters Australia: https://www.equine-encounters-au.com/

Spur Equine Program: https://rsllifecare.org.au/veterans-services/spur

Remount: https://remount.org.au/

The Healing: https://thehealing.com.au/