June 2, 2025 • 6 mins
Williams was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for services to spinal injury research and equestrian sport, and for inspiration to everyone in a chair who wants to get out of it.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we're having a look at some of the high
profile rural people in this country who were recognized in
the King's Birthday honors. Here's won and this is absolutely
richly deserved. Katrina Williams, the founder and driving force behind
the Catwalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust since its establishment in
two thousand and five. And Katrina, like Dame Allison, I
(00:22):
better call you, Dame Katrina. Now you've sort of upsized
your gone because you've got a Queen's Birthday honor in
twenty fourteen. A good afternoon. Congratulations, very proud of you.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thanks so much, Jamie, and you're really proud of our
team at Catwalk. I'm still yet to work out ho
prot me forward. I've asked a few, but I'm not
hitting the right person at the moment. But feel very
lucky that someone feels that we're worthy.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Yeah, I wouldn't trust that Shane mcmanaway too far. He's
probably got his paws on this somewhere. I don't know.
I'm just having a guess on that one. And he
was honored a couple of years ago, and gee, his
was richly deserved. I want to go back to the
year two thousand and seven and our old mate, Sir
Brian Lahore. I called him to come down and be
(01:09):
the guest speaker at the Rugby Centenary in my hometown
of Riversdale, and I said, well, we're going to pay you,
and you know what he's like. He said, no, you're
not paying me. I said, well, we're going to pay somebody,
so you better come up with a good cause that
we can make a donation too. And he looked me
straight in the iron and he said, right done the
catwalk trust And I know you and him go back
a long way.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Well, we do in the family BJ in theire. He
has this beautiful manner about him and both guys big hands,
and I haven't I remember distinctly him coming into hospital
when I first broke my neck, and I hadn't had
many people in the room because you know, we were
still dealing with the shock of not being able to
(01:50):
move our body. And he came in and when he left,
I had these nurses around just just about fainting. They
couldn't believe that the Sir Brian had walked into the room.
But too wire for people who was always DJ and
he just had this beautiful way of making everyone philodes
around him. Yet he's just could pull a speech together
(02:13):
like no other and he'd only had three words on
his page and yes we must come dearly, and he
was a great patron.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Let's go back to two thousand and two and the
accident that puts you in a chair because you were
a champion equestrian. And I know you. I mean people
who meet you now or even in recent years. Your bouncy,
you're bubbly, you're vivacious. It's like you haven't got a
worry in the world. But that must have been brutal.
It must have been so tough at the time, Damie.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It was tough, and I'm not going to deny that.
It was a big learning curve personally, I you know,
as you said, went from writing show jumpers navenas and
competing bok here and over in England and Europe, and
just suddenly heav every part of your day now me
by somebody else, even going below, having a shower, coming
(03:04):
into the pool, all of these things. We're not at
your call anymore. It was at somebody's else's decision, and
it was tough and exellas stuff. You know. We've had
a really a Bittreus fun tough for twenty two years,
but there is a great life and a chair. But
(03:25):
I'll be really honest if I could to meet the
top and not ride the horse that day and know
that I'm for twenty two years on my feet. And
I always say I don't want to be famous. I
just want to be intillant and on my face, and
I truly mean that. I also say along the lines,
if it meant that I had to slot up from Sam,
(03:48):
that I would do that as well, because I reckon
I could willn back again if I was on my feet.
But it's been tough, and I think anyone that goes
through a final could injury knows how tough it.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Let's talk about the reason why you've had your going
upgraded and why you're now Dame Katrina Williams. It's because
of the fundraising that you have done for the Spinal
Cord Injury Trust. You're looking at something like ten million
dollars and you're well on your way. Am I right
in saying that.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You're right? And I had to stop you because you
keep saying you and it's not me, anyone that can
see me. I've got leafs that don't work in hands
that it's pretty funny. We have the most incredible volunteers, supporters,
paint networks that drive these fundraising initiatives that make them happen.
So we have all these people that actually do them
(04:39):
and put their names on the board and we've had
so much fun. So in your marathon, we've started with
to ever so we've had all these beautiful black type
and parties with there, all sorts of crazy initiatives that
I mean I even tried to do. It has traced
on once in Taraniki actually failed and ended up in
nicely with hypothem. But you know what, you've got to
(05:01):
have to go out these things. And you know that's
probably the biggest challenge with catwalks is that currently as
a wheeling when you break through me as you go
into hospital, they bolted that together and they push you
out the door. My challenge is to these people with
the brains, with the mouse, with the ability, we want more.
(05:23):
It's we want more than just wheeling around the world.
Yes we can do that and use there is a
wonderful last that we had, but the ability to pick
up a child from on the floor and give them
a hide, the ability to run across the sand in
for the water. There's still something that I would love
to be able to do, and that's what they're ausos
(05:43):
hear for to raise money to some of the best
research that we can to get people back on the seat.
In my case, dancing with my husband's well on.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Knowing you, it's something you will probably achieve. You are
so determined. You're wonderful. Dame Katrina Williams, congratulations, richly deserved,
well done.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Jan
So we're having a look at some of the high
profile rural people in this country who were recognized in
the King's Birthday honors. Here's won and this is absolutely
richly deserved. Katrina Williams, the founder and driving force behind
the Catwalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust since its establishment in
two thousand and five. And Katrina, like Dame Allison, I
(00:22):
better call you, Dame Katrina. Now you've sort of upsized
your gone because you've got a Queen's Birthday honor in
twenty fourteen. A good afternoon. Congratulations, very proud of you.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thanks so much, Jamie, and you're really proud of our
team at Catwalk. I'm still yet to work out ho
prot me forward. I've asked a few, but I'm not
hitting the right person at the moment. But feel very
lucky that someone feels that we're worthy.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Yeah, I wouldn't trust that Shane mcmanaway too far. He's
probably got his paws on this somewhere. I don't know.
I'm just having a guess on that one. And he
was honored a couple of years ago, and gee, his
was richly deserved. I want to go back to the
year two thousand and seven and our old mate, Sir
Brian Lahore. I called him to come down and be
(01:09):
the guest speaker at the Rugby Centenary in my hometown
of Riversdale, and I said, well, we're going to pay you,
and you know what he's like. He said, no, you're
not paying me. I said, well, we're going to pay somebody,
so you better come up with a good cause that
we can make a donation too. And he looked me
straight in the iron and he said, right done the
catwalk trust And I know you and him go back
a long way.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Well, we do in the family BJ in theire. He
has this beautiful manner about him and both guys big hands,
and I haven't I remember distinctly him coming into hospital
when I first broke my neck, and I hadn't had
many people in the room because you know, we were
still dealing with the shock of not being able to
(01:50):
move our body. And he came in and when he left,
I had these nurses around just just about fainting. They
couldn't believe that the Sir Brian had walked into the room.
But too wire for people who was always DJ and
he just had this beautiful way of making everyone philodes
around him. Yet he's just could pull a speech together
(02:13):
like no other and he'd only had three words on
his page and yes we must come dearly, and he
was a great patron.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Let's go back to two thousand and two and the
accident that puts you in a chair because you were
a champion equestrian. And I know you. I mean people
who meet you now or even in recent years. Your bouncy,
you're bubbly, you're vivacious. It's like you haven't got a
worry in the world. But that must have been brutal.
It must have been so tough at the time, Damie.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It was tough, and I'm not going to deny that.
It was a big learning curve personally, I you know,
as you said, went from writing show jumpers navenas and
competing bok here and over in England and Europe, and
just suddenly heav every part of your day now me
by somebody else, even going below, having a shower, coming
(03:04):
into the pool, all of these things. We're not at
your call anymore. It was at somebody's else's decision, and
it was tough and exellas stuff. You know. We've had
a really a Bittreus fun tough for twenty two years,
but there is a great life and a chair. But
(03:25):
I'll be really honest if I could to meet the
top and not ride the horse that day and know
that I'm for twenty two years on my feet. And
I always say I don't want to be famous. I
just want to be intillant and on my face, and
I truly mean that. I also say along the lines,
if it meant that I had to slot up from Sam,
(03:48):
that I would do that as well, because I reckon
I could willn back again if I was on my feet.
But it's been tough, and I think anyone that goes
through a final could injury knows how tough it.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Let's talk about the reason why you've had your going
upgraded and why you're now Dame Katrina Williams. It's because
of the fundraising that you have done for the Spinal
Cord Injury Trust. You're looking at something like ten million
dollars and you're well on your way. Am I right
in saying that.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You're right? And I had to stop you because you
keep saying you and it's not me, anyone that can
see me. I've got leafs that don't work in hands
that it's pretty funny. We have the most incredible volunteers, supporters,
paint networks that drive these fundraising initiatives that make them happen.
So we have all these people that actually do them
(04:39):
and put their names on the board and we've had
so much fun. So in your marathon, we've started with
to ever so we've had all these beautiful black type
and parties with there, all sorts of crazy initiatives that
I mean I even tried to do. It has traced
on once in Taraniki actually failed and ended up in
nicely with hypothem. But you know what, you've got to
(05:01):
have to go out these things. And you know that's
probably the biggest challenge with catwalks is that currently as
a wheeling when you break through me as you go
into hospital, they bolted that together and they push you
out the door. My challenge is to these people with
the brains, with the mouse, with the ability, we want more.
(05:23):
It's we want more than just wheeling around the world.
Yes we can do that and use there is a
wonderful last that we had, but the ability to pick
up a child from on the floor and give them
a hide, the ability to run across the sand in
for the water. There's still something that I would love
to be able to do, and that's what they're ausos
(05:43):
hear for to raise money to some of the best
research that we can to get people back on the seat.
In my case, dancing with my husband's well on.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Knowing you, it's something you will probably achieve. You are
so determined. You're wonderful. Dame Katrina Williams, congratulations, richly deserved,
well done.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Jan
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