New look British team retain the gold medal
Longines FEI Para Dressage European Championships, Gothenburg, Sweden
BRITAIN’S gold run has to come to an end sometime — but it was not going to happen in Gothenburg. The European Championships reached a nail-biting conclusion as Britain snatched gold from the hands of the Danes, continuing their remarkable legacy.
Britain has never been beaten in para dressage at European, Paralympic or world championship level, but if ever victory was not going to be ours, it would have likely been this year. In a major shake-up to the dominance of the old guard, the British selectors took a risk and cast an eye to the future, fielding a team that featured three championship debutantes in Julie Payne,
Suzanna Hext and Erin Orford — the latter a late substitute for Natasha Adkinson. The all-female quartet was completed by the hugely experienced Sophie Wells, but Sophie partnered the least experienced horse in the 10-yearold C Fatal Attraction.
RIGHT TO THE WIRE
IN many ways, this championship marked a shift into a new era of para dressage, with changes to the structure of the competition (see box, p38), and plenty of new partnerships on display. But for Britain, this result, with fresh faces at the helm, proves that our reign as the indisputable kings of the para arena is far from over.
Unusually for Britain, it went right to the wire, and as Denmark and the Netherlands began to complete their sets of scores, Britain languished in an unfamiliar third. Britain’s Julie Payne needed a mega score for Britain to retain the title. Never has it been so close at the top.
But rarely has Britain fielded a rider with such phenomenal nerves of steel. At her very first championship, Julie performed the test of her life to send Britain soaring into gold.
“The age I am now, I never thought this could happen. It’s just a fairytale — the absolute pinnacle of my life,” said an emotional Julie as she prepared to accompany the rest of the team onto the podium.
It was widely commented at the Rio Paralympics that Britain could have won even with our “B” team, but many were not quite so confident when the time came for the next generation to take over the mantle. Simultaneously, nations such as Denmark, Italy and Germany have been building up their ammunition over the past 12 months, all very much aware that if they were going to knock the Brits from the top spot, this was their chance. The toughest challenge undoubtedly came from the Danes, whose four riders raked in super marks. To be able to discard a 71% score is seriously impressive, and testament to their strength in depth.
As is so often the case, the competition featured a dual between Germany and the Netherlands, the latter edging into bronze by just two points thanks to hefty scores by Frank Hosmar and Nicole den Dulk.
While it might take a while for British supporters to recover their nerves, few would dispute that the sport of para dressage is in better shape than ever.