The equestrian action of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games may be over, but the Paralympic Games (28 August-8 September) are still to come, with so much to look forward to.
Paris will see a total of 75 riders across the five grades: I, II, III, IV and V. Grade I will be ridden in walk only, Grade II and III in walk and trot, and grade IV and V in walk, trot and canter.
Common for all grades is the high the level of competition, with defending Paralympic champion combinations, such as Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Jørgensen with Jolene (Grade III), Michele George with Best of 8 (Grade V) and Sanne Voets with Demantur (Grade IV), mixed with many new combinations.
The strong British squad has also been confirmed, with four combinations representing Team GB: Natasha Baker, Mari Durward-Akhurst, Georgia Wilson and Sophie Wells.
This will be Natasha’s fourth Games and her second with Keystone Dawn Chorus (Lottie). As a new partnership in Tokyo, they won team gold, individual silver and freestyle silver, adding to the five golds that Natasha previously won at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Mari will make her Paralympic Games debut in Paris. Previously a team silver medallist at the FEI Para Dressage European Championship in 2019, the Grade 1 rider now partners experienced horse Athene Lindebjerg, who contested Rio 2016 with Sophie Christiansen to win triple gold.
Georgia and Sakura made their Games debut at Tokyo 2020, where they won individual and freestyle bronze. Since then, they have achieved podium placings at the FEI Para Dressage World Championship 2022 and FEI Para Dressage European Championship in 2023.
Sophie is another athlete to make her fourth Games appearance in Paris. The Grade 5 rider took three golds and three silvers across London 2012 and Rio 2016, followed by team gold and individual silver at Tokyo 2020 with new ride Don Cara M.
The equestrian venue at Versailles was one of the first two Paralympic venues to sell out this year. The full stadium will be a sharp contrast to the Tokyo Paralympic games, where the whole stadium was left empty due to covid restrictions.
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Lead image of Rodolpho Riskalla, Sanne Voets and Manon Claeys on the podium during the medal ceremony for Individual Grade IV at the Paralympic Games in Paris 2020. Credit: FEI/Liz Gregg
