Friday, 06 September 2024
Friday’s Paris 2024 Paralympic Games action was all about deciding the team medals, with three combinations across five grades put forward for each of the 16 countries. ParalympicsGB’s Team Leader for para equestrian, Georgina Sharples, had named her team of three as Natasha Baker (Grade 3), Sophie Wells (Grade 5) and Georgia Wilson (Grade 2). With strong performances across in the individual tests, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands would be the countries to beat.
First up was Sophie Wells, who has helped ParalympicsGB secure gold at the past three Games, riding a different horse on each occasion. With experience and talent, Sophie is the ideal pathfinder, but she’d need to channel all her skill and mindset to help her young partner, LJT Egebjerggards Samoa. The talented black mare is owned by the Lady Joseph Trust, which was established in 2009 by Henrietta Cheetham to source and secure horses to partner elite para athletes. Aged just eight, ‘Diana’ is high in natural ability but low on big occasion milage.
As they turned down the centreline to begin their test, the pairing looked a picture of focus and elegance. They started brightly, with the judging panel of Anne Prain (FRA), the president at C, Freddy Leyman (BEL), John Robinson (GBR), Katherine Lucheschi (ITA) and Suzanne Cunningham (AUS) largely favouring the eight and seven point five scoring buttons. They had a momentary break in balance for the first medium trot, which caused Diana to break into canter, but Sophie quickly got her back and restored the trot. The trot half-passes showed good flow and there was improvement in the second medium trot section, thanks to a good fame and great regularity.
The testing shoulder-in on the centreline was well executed, followed by a fair walk tour. There was a hint of anticipation in the transition to canter but, once underway, the quality of the pace really showed. They had a miscommunication in the simple change of left to the right, when Diana showed some impressive – albeit unrequired – passage steps, but Sophie was quick to correct her and recovered well to skillfully negotiate the halt and rein-back on the final centreline. A square halt signaled the end of the test and Sophie heaped the praise on her young partner.
It wasn’t the clear round she’d hoped for, but there was some impressive moments in the test, which was packed full of quality and evidence of what the St Schrufo-sired mare could achieve as she continues to mature. Sophie managed the test exceptionally well, keeping a level temperament and minimising the impact of the mistakes to score 70.895%. It was a super start for the team, with one good score safely in the clubhouse.
“I’m kicking myself if I’m absolutely frank,” lamented Sophie. “She felt so good going in, so much better than we finished the other day. I literally just relaxed for a second in the extended trot and I was like ‘sh*t’ and then for the simple change I didn't really feel it coming. Obviously, she surged out into the half-pass and I was like ‘no just be patient, get her back’ and I clearly got the timing wrong. But, we got it back, we did the rest of the test, and got my last halt and rein-back, which sometimes can be a bit of a tricky movement on the centre line, so I was pleased with that. She felt really chilled coming out so I’m positive for tomorrow. I just feel like I haven't quite done my part of the team.”
Often her own harshest critic, Sophie added; “I knew that I wasn't going to be able to take any risks today and that's the reality of bringing her to the Games. But, at the same time, I've got to keep her confidence and even when the mistake happened, thankfully, after the first extended trot, the second one was fine. So, she’s obviously got her confidence, so that was fine. It's hard having a mistake like that, but it's what happens – I must ride better.”
And what did the rider from Harby, on the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border, think of the team’s medal chances from here? “I think it was tough going into it anyway, looking at the scores from the rest of the week. Being completely realistic, I don't think we've got much of a chance now, but Tash and Georgia are amazing. You do need all three members to have pulled their weight and got the high scores and, unfortunately, I didn't manage to do that today,” she reflected.
It was a career milestone for Welsh rider Georgia Wilson today because it was the first time she’s ridden on a Paralympic team for Great Britain, having been competed as an individual when called up last minute for Tokyo 2020. Riding Sakura, who she owns with her parents Geoff and Julie, Georgia knew what her task was in such elite company if she wanted to keep British medal hopes alive, and with the added pressure of being first to go in the Grade 2 competition.
Georgia was straight into the imposing arena in the shadow of the Palace at Versailles, wanting to get as much time as possible to show Sakura the white boards under the watchful eye of personal coach Nicky Lickley. They started brightly with good immobility in the first halt, with the chestnut mare – bred in Britain by Geri Eilberg – listening intently to her rider. The first section of the Grade 2 test features a number of walk-trot transitions and variations in the paces to test that connection between the horse and rider, and you could see Georgia was riding to garner every mark she could. A small stumble in trot on a circle was quickly gathered up, and the rhythm and activity was retained. Their halt at A wasn’t quite square and in plain sight of all five judges, but ‘Suki’ stood rock steady to salvage some marks – important because this movement was double scoring.
The leg-yields were good, particularly the second to the left, with accurate riding by Georgia. They kept great balance in the lengthened trot strides and followed these with a well-executed three-loop serpentine, showing the desired change of bend to straightness. A strong final centreline was met with ‘butterfly’ applause from the crowd and hug and pat for Suki. The duo hadn’t left anything in the training arena – they’d given in their best shot.
The final mark was 73.3% – a great score to get the class underway and set the mark for others, but it looked to be a few percent below what Britain wanted to keep us in the hunt for gold.
Georgia told the media after her test; “I’m feeling bit relieved, but I was pleased with Suki. She tripped over a few times at the start, but we got there in the end and produced some really nice work. There are some bits I could maybe be critical about, but you're always critical about any test.
“When I went in the first day, I was wanting to get those marks, and I feel I can do that with Suki now. I can go in there and try my best and get all the marks I can get out of the judges,” she said.
Reflecting, she added; “Probably at the beginning, I was pushing her a bit too much and I'm probably a bit nervous at the beginning, so she probably picks up, and then she trips and I'm like, ‘oh no, I'm going too fast’. I think she's got better throughout the week and feels a bit more at home – you just want to try your best.”
After a break in proceedings to harrow the arena, with the resident DJ giving the crowds their daily arm workout, it was on to the final test – Grade 3 – to decide the team medals. Having had their three riders all compete across the previous tests, it was Germany who set the benchmark score to beat as 223.751%. As in the Grade 2 competition, the British pairing were drawn first to go but, if anyone could lead from the front, it was Natasha Baker.
Natasha has shared how emotional her time in Paris has been for her and that her focus so far hasn’t been about the medals, but the sense of pride and achievement she has in coming back from maternity leave and having her one-year-old son Joshua watching. However, Natasha is a fierce competitor and there was little doubt she’d want to put up a strong performance with her equine partner, the British-bred Dawn Chorus, who she owns with Joanna Jensen, Christian Landolt and her parents Phil and Lorraine.
In her customary way, Natasha greeted the judges with a broad smile to set a positive foundation. ‘Lottie’ is a big-moving horse, and Natasha has to work hard within the restrictions of her disability to channel the energy into rhythm and impulsion over speed. They started well, with the Uxbridge rider visualising her lines through the voltes (small circles) to ensure the accuracy and perfect execution.
The overall picture was looking relaxed, with Natasha expertly masking the work she was doing in the saddle to keep the pleasing picture. The free walk showed good ground cover and relaxation and, once back into trot, the tempo was maintained through the tricky turn-on-the-haunches. The first halt was near-square, but a slight loss of balance in the rein-back was quickly put behind them with an expressive medium trot straight after. The four-loop serpentine with quick transitions to walk and back to trot was superbly delivered – a real test for the riders in this grade and their relationship with their horses. The trot leg-yields were also well presented, with good reaction from Lottie without losing the balance or tempo. Then it was down the centreline and that broad smile of Natasha’s began to make an appearance once again before Lottie planted four-square to end the test. It was a clear round and they’d given it their everything.
Natasha lavished grateful praise on Lottie and pointed to her for the crowd to see how much she appreciated what the mare had given. Plenty of waves to the crowd came from Natasha, including some blown kisses in the direction of her husband Marc and young Joshua. The final score was 75.367% – a season’s best – which gave ParalympicsGB a final tally of 219.562% and into second, but with a number of nations still to present their third rider. The Britons’ jobs were done for the day – all they could do now was wait and see if it was enough to stay on the podium.
“I'm so thrilled with her. She went in there and she just grew in confidence from the individual day and I could ask for a little bit more, hence the two percent increase in score. I'm just super, super-happy. Her balance was much better and she stayed with me again and stayed really relaxed. I just can't wait for tomorrow now, I'm so excited,” explained Natasha.
“I just wanted to build each day – that was my aim coming here, I wanted to give her a really good safe clear round in the first day and then just build on it as the days went on, and I feel like I’ve done that today. Tomorrow, I think I can really go in there and go for it. Tomorrow is my best test – it's to my amazing music and it's the floor plan that I’ve choreographed to show her off at her best, so I just can't wait to do that tomorrow and dance to my music.
“Do you know what? I'm so proud of my performance, but I'm also so proud of Sophie and Georgia. They both rode beautifully, and do you know what? All you can do is come to a Games and ride your best, right? And that's exactly what the girls have done. We thought that we might not be bringing home a medal in the team and it's fine. We'll live to tell another tale tomorrow and, hopefully, we can come back with some individual medals,” she explained.
The first opportunity to shake up the podium came from the fifth rider to go, Dutch duo Rixt van der Horst and Royal Fonq. Having claimed the silver medal in Tuesday’s individual competition with a +76% score, they were a very real threat. They put up a very spirited challenge and their tremendous final mark of 78.067% catapulted the trio from The Netherlands into the gold medal position, relegating Germany and Britain down a step on the podium.
Next up was USA veteran Rebecca Hart, competing in her fifth consecutive Games and with partner Floratina. Few would doubt their potential to secure a team medal, having taken gold in the Grade 3 Individual just days earlier. The target was to score over 75.85% – well within their range – but few could have foretold of what came next. It was an impeccable performance – a true display of harmony between horse and rider. They posted the first +80% score of the Games, putting the gold firmly in the grasp of Team USA.
Italy, Belgium and the home team France were now the primary threats for lowing the British placing on the overall scoreboard. The Italian anchor rider Francesca Salvade and Escari rose to the challenge and posted a 73% which left them some 0.585% behind Germany and enough to relegate Britain down the order to fifth. The final riders from Belgium and France couldn’t quite match the pace and the three rider totals left them in seventh and fifth respectively, leaving Britain in sixth overall.
So, ParalympicsGB’s reign comes to an end. Having taken gold in every Games since equestrian joined the Paralympic programme in Atlanta in 1996 – seven consecutive titles – it was time to hand the honours to new lights, the USA. The results are testament to the evolution of para dressage, and the quality of the competition, riding, horsemanship and horses has been stronger than ever, which can only be a huge positive for the sport.
Sophie Wells gave her take on the expectation and performance; “We were quite aware coming into it [the Games]. In 2018, we didn't get the team gold and for the Worlds in 2022, we didn't win a team medal. The sport has come on so much and it's amazing and it's exactly what it should be. Nations like America, Holland, Germany, Denmark and Belgium – they've really come on and overtaken us, and that's what sport should be. It shouldn't be predictable, should it? We've got to go home, work hard and get back out fighting.”
Natasha Baker added her thoughts; “I think the teams that have done really well have got incredible horsepower. I'm not saying that we don't have incredible horsepower, but we can hopefully attract some more owners through showing off our sport to the world stage and showing how amazing we are, and hopefully attract some more horsepower. I think we're doing everything we can as a team.
“We're so grateful to the National Lottery for giving us so many wonderful opportunities for working with the best people in the industry in the UK, and I think we can go home from here feeling really, really proud of ourselves.
“We can also look forward to Los Angeles and see where we can make those changes to come back. We've been in front for such a long time. We didn't even expect to be bringing home the team gold in Tokyo, so the fact that we did that was unreal. The rest of the world has caught up with us now, so it's just going to be us trying to find ways that we can sneak back up to the top again” she concluded.
Saturdays were made for dancing
Tomorrow is the final curtain on the action from Versailles over the Olympic and Paralympic Games – the UNESCO World Heritage site has certainly provided one of Paris 2024’s most iconic venues, and one that has witnessed some incredible performances from both equine and human athletes. It’s fitting that the honour of bringing the competition to climax should be the para equestrian Freestyle, with the top eight from the individual tests across the five grades contesting the medals.
All four of the ParalympicsGB combinations are in action as follows (times are BST):
Don’t miss a minute of the action – the Channel 4 Sport YouTube channel is covering everything, with highlights in the evening as part of the mainstream Channel 4 evening show. Full times and results are available via the Paris 2024 website.