At the Sydney International Equestrian Centre, home of the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the event provided riders such as Davies a final chance to showcase their talent in front of the national selectors, ahead of the squad announcement on July 4.

Despite challenging weather conditions throughout the duration of the event, Davies and her striking Lusitano stallion Celere (a 14-year-old imported lusitano buckskin stallion) were named the Grade II winner of the Freestyle competition.

"The international visiting judge from New Zealand really liked Celere and I, rewarding us with world-class scores, which I believe, left a positive mark with the Australian selectors and national coach," Davies, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid as a teenager, said.

"We gained two qualifying scores and won champion for our grade.

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"These results make me very proud, not based on winning per-say but the game plan working out amazingly well.

"I'm also proud to say I have qualified both of my stallions Celere and Andaluka Elegido (a 16-year-old PRE Spanish grey stallion) for the games, which doesn't mean they are selected for the team, it means they are both in contention and have satisfied the International and Australian requirements.

"I went into this competition very positive, with a professional and supportive team around me.

"I made hard decisions after an event in April, which saw a complete change in my game plan.

"My new motto is to listen to your gut feeling, take out the emotions and think logically.

"Everyone from officials, the team vet and selectors could see the positive difference from the previous event three weeks prior - it was all very exciting."

Their combination scored 68.30 per cent securing the pair their third win for the weekend, which takes the pair one step closer to securing their maiden Paralympics berth.

"It is very exciting that we are this close to qualifying - I mean, I haven't been very lucky have I," she said.

"I was shortlisted for the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016 and in the same position as I am right now for Tokyo, then I was diagnosed with a life-threatening neck condition where my spine is missing from piercing my brain by 0.05mm and my brain stem is being crushed.

"I had no choice but to withdraw from Rio selection and make some of the hardest decisions of my life.

"I was told I was never going to ride again and needed surgery that had a low success rate; it could either take my life or leave me a quadriplegic.

"It was hard seeing the team go to Rio, which is the athlete in me, but I knew I needed to find that one neurosurgeon that would give me the miracle I needed.

"Then at the World Equestrian Games in 2018 I was ranked second for a team of three but due to funding, only one rider was selected, which was a massive blow for obvious reasons.

"When COVID-19 hit last year and the Tokyo Games were postponed, I was okay.

"I am a very resilient person.

"For me, I love the journey, my horses, getting up each day and having a goal to strive towards and most importantly the fact I'm still able to ride, it's a blessing that can't be taken for granted."

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As Davies, who started riding at the age of three, alluded to, she took the extra year of qualifying in her stride and continued her undefeated streak in her para grade which dates back to 2016.

Her qualification process for Tokyo started in April 2019, where she and Celere gained two qualifying scores and won champion for their grade at the Sydney CPEDI.

This was followed by appearances at the Brisbane CPEDI (July 2019), Para Nationals CPEDI (November 2019), Dressage Festival CPEDI/CDI (December 2019) and Boneo Classic CPEDI/CDI (January 2019) - which saw the duo shortlisted for the games in February 2020.

That same month, they are named the overall champion of the Equestrian Life Para-Dressage leaderboard across all grade, as well as the highest placed combination for FEI grade II, highest placed FEI para combination for NSW and highest placed FEI para combination competing internationally.

One month later, Davies was named champion for her grade with Celere and reserve champion with her other stallion Andaluka Elegido.

Then in April, just before the games were postponed, she was named on the EA high-performance Para-dressage green squad (Australian Institute of Sport athlete category - podium ready and podium potential).

After a couple of months away from the sport, Davies was still ranked 12th in the world for the 2020 FEI grade II Para equestrian world rankings in December and was shortlisted for the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Then recently, April's return to competition saw Andaluka Elegido and Davies named national champion and Celere and her named reserve champion.

"Due to COVID-19, there were only two Para equestrian competitions held over the past year, so training and open dressage competitions have been my focus," Davies, who had an aggressive skin cancer removed from her nose three weeks before April's qualifiers, said.

"To be honest, I didn't compete much as I really enjoyed staying home and just training - no pressure and it was good for my horses to not travel.

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"For me, I feel better than ever, as I've used the time to work on myself physically and mentally as I went into this game campaign too hard and I was burning out towards the end as I didn't have the right support around me - I was being pushed too hard from certain people.

"Equestrian Australia's high-performance team have been amazing with their support and also my own personal team of doctors, new coach, family and friends.

"If anything the past few months have shown me how important it is to have a strong team around you."

Although Davies' qualification process has wrapped up, that doesn't mean the 35-year-old won't be busy over the next few weeks, prior to the Tokyo team being announced on July 5.

"My upcoming schedule is hectic," she said.

"I have no free days in my calendar and I feel I am a bit of a nomad at the moment as I'm doing so much travelling.

"I'm training and competing with my horses at my property in NSW and also making fortnightly trips to Victoria to compete and train with my new coach Lone Jorgensen, who is also the national Para coach and a former Olympic Danish team rider.

"I go for my second COVID vaccination at the start of June before travelling down to Victoria for a championship event where I will ride Celere.

"I have a competition with Andaluka Elegido in late June, with lots of physiotherapy, doctors, zoom meetings, uniform fittings and vet appointments in between."

If the news is positive come July 5, Davies admits it'll be a just reward for all her efforts over the past eight years.

"I've dedicated my life to this sport - day in day out, I've put off operations and pushed through unimaginable challenges and it hasn't been just me on this journey," she said.

"My husband has dedicated his whole life to it as well and has been part of this high-performance journey from the beginning since it began eight years ago.

"It'll be a very proud moment the day I can call myself a Paralympian, an Australian Paralympian.

"The fact I'll be in Tokyo for my birthday on August 21 will be one to remember."

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If that's the case, Davies' busy schedule will then step up another notch, as she ramps up for Paralympic preparations.

"Many preparations have begun for the shortlisted riders 'to get the ball rolling'," she said.

"The July 5 announcement is quite late and different to previous games but cannot be helped as there is an Australian shortlisted rider based in Germany having their last qualifier events late June.

"This is due to COVID, as many competitions have been pushed back in Europe.

"The team athletes and horses will begin the first stage of quarantine on August 3, before leaving Australia for Tokyo on August 19, with competition starting six days later.

"I'll pretty much fly in, train, compete and the moment the games are over, the Australian athletes fly out and then go into 14-day hotel quarantine - it will be a very different games experience."

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