WILTSHIRE rider Anne Dunham is still feeling the same buzz she did 20 years ago after being selected to represent Great Britain at a fifth Paralympic Games last week.

Dunham, who is based in Worton, has been included in a five-strong team to contest the para-dressage event in Rio alongside Natasha Baker, Sophie Christiansen, Lee Pearson and Sophie Wells.

The 67-year-old missed out on selection for the London 2012 Games four years ago but has amassed five Paralympic golds as well as a silver and a bronze since making her debut at Atlanta in 1996.

“If anything it’s more exciting to do it for a fifth time,” said Dunham, who also competed at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

“I remember how excited I was the first time I was in the Paralympic squad but to still be there now all these years on is really amazing and I still feel that same excitement.

“Of course the fact that I’ve done it before means you have that bit of experience about what the Games are like but every Games is different and I’m sure this one will be even more amazing than the others.

“I was very sad to miss out on London. I would have loved to have competed there and it was a great shame but that’s life.

“Sometimes things don’t happen but we’ve kept working hard and now I have got another chance.”

Dunham and her horse LJT Lucas Normark knew they would be on the plane to Rio earlier this month but had to keep quiet until the team was officially confirmed last Thursday.

Now the news is out in the open, Dunham can focus on getting her mount in the best condition possible for the trip to Brazil, with the Games getting under way on September 7.

“It’s been an ambition of mine for the last four years so to realise it, I’m so thrilled,” added Dunham.

“We found out about five or six days beforehand but we had to keep it under our hats. When you find out something like that you just want to tell everyone but we couldn’t.

“It was a very tough couple of days but now everyone knows it’s great to be able to celebrate it.

“We’ve been working hard to get there but now the hard work continues as we have to make sure we keep the horse in top form for when we get there.

“I think he is in really good shape, we had a really good competition at Hartpury in our last event where we won all three classes we were in.

“Now it’s about trying to keep him at that level.”