Sophie brings us her round up from the World Championships Herning 2022.
“I’m beyond proud of Don Cara who has proved so much more consistency for the higher scores all week compared to last year, starting with a wonderful Silver medal in the Individual test on the Thursday of the Championships.
This was followed by a long and stressful wait for us to play our part on the Saturday in the Team competition by going last. Unfortunately the other guys didn’t have their perfect rides and I needed 78.4 to take the team into Bronze medal position, with Gold / Silver way out of reach. Don and I did everything we could and scored 76.190% which secured our team qualification for the Paralympics Paris 2024, which was the big aim for the championships, but it was gutting to be out of the medals. I’m so proud we handled the pressure, it didn’t affect the harmony in the arena and we still scored 3% more for the team than we were able to in Tokyo.
We were back for the Freestyle on Sunday and we danced to our Tom Hunt Dressage Music programme. Finishing that test I was so, so proud of Don. A year ago our freestyle turned into a bit of a car crash in Tokyo but here he rose to the occasion, despite the roars of the Swedish team winning show jumping gold as we entered the arena! It’s amazing to see how far Don has come and I’m so proud of riding the sort of dressage we aspire to. I’ve never won a bronze medal before and I’m bloody proud of it!
Thank you so much to Don’s wonderful owners, Rowland and Maria Kinch, who were able to join us this week and see their boy dance. Also to Angela Weiss for the continued training for the past 18 years and to Carl Hester for the past couple of years and the sessions at the championships. Beth Revill did her usual amazing job of looking after Don in Denmark and on the long journey there and back, and the girls at home looked after everything there - thank you.
As always the British Equestrian support team provide the help and support for us to be the best we can be, and none of this would be possible without the The National Lottery funding and UK Sport.
And of course thank you to my sponsors and home team who help me give the best to the horses.
Last but not least Don - the best bit is seeing you grow in confidence. I can’t wait to see what you can do in the future and thank you for pushing me to be a better rider.”