Nicole Kullen

Personal

In August 1996, Kullen contracted meningococcal meningitis septicemia. Kullen spent the next six weeks on life support in an induced coma. After coming out of the coma she spent a further six months in hospital recovering from the illness and being rehabilitated. Due to the illness both her legs were amputated, she now has limited arm movements, limited strength and no function in both hands and wrists. Her internal organs continue to cause health implications due to the effect the illness had on her organs. In 2000, Kullen lost all function in both kidneys and now relies on peritoneal dialysis four times a day. In 2003, Kullen had the premature birth of her son Kyle, but he later died following complications of the birth.

Career

In 2000, Kullen started competing in dressage competitions with the Equestrian Federation of Australia for able-bodied riders and the RDAA for riders with a disability. Her finished international competition was the First International Combined Festival of Dressage at the International Para-Equestrian Competition in Belgium in 2006. At the 2007 FEI World Para Equestrian Dressage Championships, she won a silver and bronze medal. At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, she finished fourth in the freestyle and eleventh in the championship.

After Kullen's retirement from international duties she focused her time to her Arabian horses at Nikshar Stud. Margaret Kullen started putting her stallions in shows and shows them around in her wheelchair. She posed a question to the board of the Arabian Horse Society of Australia (AHSA) saying that, “there was no rule regarding showing horses from a wheelchair.” The board responded after consultation with Kullen and introduced a new rule into the AHSA Rule Book allowing wheelchair users to compete.

Recognition