Meet Erin Alberda.
She’s the true face of inspiration, bravery, dignity, and now rallying.
On her horse, Alberda was a world-class competitor who represented the United States. In her 1978 Pontiac Firebird, she’s a novice. For now. Erin’s shift from horse to car came for the sort of reason which helps define her character, who she is. As does her decision to set aside her own disability to help those starting out in the sport.
The 47-year-old health care professional’s story is remarkable.
Horses were always Alberda’s thing when she was growing up. It stayed that way into college, when her life changed.
“I was 20 years old when I got sick in college,” she told DirtFish. “It resulted in a permanent disability. I lost the feeling in my legs. I have a movement disorder called Ataxia. It’s sort of like my brain doesn’t coordinate my body well.”
After dealing with this news, Erin’s immediate response was to get back on the horse. But this time it was different.
“I got back into riding in sort of a therapeutic way,” she explained. “Horses can really benefit folks with disabilities.”
And that natural ability didn’t go unnoticed.
“I got scouted,” she said. “It was essentially to be a part of the disabled equestrian team for the U.S. I was able to represent the United States at our world championships and compete around the world. I wound up switching from riding dressage to reigning, which is basically going from horse ballet to cowboy s***. I had a tonne of fun going really fast and doing these sliding stops.
“At that time, I also experienced a lot in terms of what inclusion looks like: what does it look like to be the person these folk don’t always want to have at the table?
“On the other side, there was tremendous philanthropic support from a community that wanted to see both the sport and me succeed.”
Post-COVID, Erin was thinking deeper about what she was doing.
“I love to compete,” she said, her voice lowering, “but there was some tension [for me]. Is it fair to the animal? The way the sport was going, we were pushing harder and harder and the horses were getting younger. Was it a crisis of ethics? I don’t know. But my heart just wasn’t in it anymore.”
Stepping off the horse was the right move for Alberda, but the competitive edge – along with the need for speed – was going nowhere. Fortunately, her husband Brian Donnelly had some thoughts of his own.
“He’s a lifelong car guy,” she said. “He just said: ‘Why don’t you take a class at DirtFish? They have women-only classes and there’s a hand-control car available. Go do it. You know you want to do something different, go get your mind out of your heartache.’”
She booked the class and car #3 was prepared and ready.
“Nate was my instructor,” she said. There’s a pause as she assembles the right words in the right order to talk through her first time in a rally car.
“It was so empowering. This was what I need for my body, for who I am without it feeling bad. It was also incredible because it’s hard to sort of self-advocate as a person with a disability and kind of explain what your experience is. And it just didn’t matter at DirtFish.
“All that mattered was being taught to fling this car around in the dirt.”
Erin was in. Hooked. A week later – via Craiglist – the ’78 Firebird was bought and the first rallycross event researched.
“The car is mechanically simple,” she said. “It’s an automatic transmission and power brake so you don’t need to worry about your disability and it’s sturdy. I fell right into it and, after being in the rallycross community and meeting some of the folks who are racing stage rally, I realized what an incredible culture of support there is.”
And the two disciplines weren’t entirely foreign to each other.
“There’s a lot of crossover from riding a horse. When I had to re-learn post-disability, I had to learn to ride with so much more feel versus brute strength, because my brute strength was gone. I didn’t have it. I had the sense that I could influence this horse by a shift of my weight. You have to understand the weight transfer and the horse.
“And you have to use your vision and understand the speed and momentum. Horses have a free will that you don’t have with a car, but horses gave me freedom and a sense of grace. This was something I could transfer over to a car. Once I have my body in such a position, my feet arranged on the pedals, I can feel that same weight transfer, I can feel when I’m losing grip. I can anticipate what’s coming next, but right now I don’t have the muscle memory built on exactly what needs to happen next.
“For me, this is exciting. I can see that I can get better at this, then I can get really better – I have this background of responding and reacting to these inputs.”
All of the above is why the Firebird is having a cage fitted.
“I want to do a stage rally,” Alberda added, “just to prove that I can do it. I know it will be a push and I’ll need the folks around me, but I know you don’t get any younger. I love this sport and I want to make this story visible.”
That visibility Erin’s talking about comes from her time in and out of the car. Understanding there are plenty more women drivers looking for a way into the sport, she established the Bluebird Fund.
“I don’t think there’s the same culture of philanthropy in rallying,” she said. “It felt like there’s a gap. How could I take what I learned doing my sport and getting my sponsors and getting these dollars and experiencing this, and roll it into something that is so meaningful for me now? I put this little idea together to kind of get some dollars into the hands of drivers to help them buy safety equipment, to support women who are out there walking the walk.
“I didn’t really tell anyone I was doing it. I just sort of branded it the Bluebird Fund and sent out some money. And it created a little bit of a spark.”
That spark became a flame that’s burning brighter and brighter – especially with the help and cooperation of DirtFish Women in Motorsport coordinator Josie Rimmer.
Erin added: “What I’m doing feels so synergistic with what she is trying to build. Josie has got the big vision, and I have the small-scale philanthropy vision: how do you build the base? How do you get people into rallycross? How do you support these grassroots teams so that we have more women’s faces in the mix at all levels?
“I’m just delighted to see where Josie’s going with the Women in Motorsport initiative, to do my part, small scale, and to just kind of have the conversation about inclusion and making it available and accessible and normalizing different faces, participating.
“I’ll be at the DirtFish Women in Motorsport Summit [on Saturday August 22], supporting Josie and everybody there. My journey in this sport is just beginning.”
Join Josie, Erin and some of the world’s most successful women competitors at what’s set to be the most influential and informative DirtFish Women in Motorsport Summit yet. Full details and tickets are available here.
