[ad_1]
Supplied
Helen Smith, second from left, in the 1991 New Zealand Young Cycling Team.
Helen Smith was once a well-known show jumper representing her country and a ‘total achiever’, says a friend.
But then the addiction took over.
Helen Dorothy Smith, 49, was found dead Oct. 16 on the shore of Lake Taupō near Mere Rd along with Trevor Malcolm Wiringi, 50, of Rotorua.
Paula Mussen, who had known Smith for 33 years, described it as “a lot of fun” but said it was lost due to an alcohol addiction.
The day Smith died, she had been drinking by the lake and swimming with Wiringi.
READ MORE:
* Two people found dead in Lake Taupō named
* Bodies removed from the popular Lake Taupō site
* Coronavirus: The soldier of World War I was Ashley Bloomfield from the influenza epidemic of 1918
The couple drank so much they passed out, and Mussen said he understood that hypothermia killed Smith overnight.
It was a sad ending for someone who had accomplished so much before in his life.
She was one of the best riders, representing New Zealand as a jumper, as well as receiving other accolades early in her jockeying career as Young Rider of the Year in Horse of the Year.
When Smith broke his back in a tractor accident, he lost a lot of weight, which is when he changed and spent two years working as an apprentice jockey. At one point she was the main hockey apprentice.
Mussen described Smith as having “ants in his pants.”
“She was a lot of fun.”
Smith met her ex-husband in Greece, they married in Romania and had two children who are now 14 and 17 years old.
Before 2014, Smith and her ex-husband had been living in Rotorua, buying and fixing properties, and they also owned a lawn mowing business.
“She was a total achiever, then the alcohol took over.”
Smith began skyrocketing in 2014 and Mussen said that despite multiple efforts from family and friends, he could never kick the alcohol habit.
“He started to lose his way and we all tried to get his help.
“I didn’t want to drink, I knew I was struggling with it.
But he needed professional help and struggled to find it.
Supplied
The rahui has been lifted after the death of two people found on the shores of Lake Taupo.
“She would go through stages where she would stop drinking completely and you would say ‘yes, she’s back.’
“But … then he started mingling with the wrong crowds.”
Mussen said he wanted to talk about what happened to Smith, as he felt there was a misconception about alcoholics in New Zealand.
“I think everyone is critical, they think ‘you’re a drunk witch’ [and] ‘just stop drinking’.
“If I could have, I would have.
“She was a totally successful person until addiction took over.
“Has been [like] watching a train accident in slow motion. “
Mussen said Smith came from a good New Zealand family, with his sister also a jumper and his brother a world-class golfer.
“Addiction can affect everyone, [affects] successful people too.
“The family desperately wanted to help her.”
On Monday, a group of Taupō policemen and Ngāti Tūwharetoa’s elder, Manunui Blake, gathered in Taharepa to lift the rāhui in the lake after the police deemed both deaths not suspicious.
The deaths have been referred to the coroner.
WHERE TO GET HELP
Life line (open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) – 0800 543 354
Healthline (open 24/7) – 0800 611116
Samaritans (open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) – 0800726666
Help for alcoholic drugs (open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) – 0800 787 797. You can also send a text message to 8691 for free.
