The equestrian events at the Paris Olympics have come to a close – after huge and deserved success for the British teams.
There was no individual showjumping medal added to the British haul last Tuesday (6 August); all three combinations had jumped clear in the first round to qualify for the final but Harry Charles withdrew Romeo 88 that morning as the 15-year-old gelding had a small overreach. Scott Brash and Jefferson and Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly had an unlucky rail each to finish sixth and ninth respectively.
But the team had already secured a fabulous team gold, making it four showjumping golds at four Olympics on the trot, added to eventing team gold and individual bronze and double dressage bronze.
The Queen was among those to pay tribute to the horses’ and riders’ achievements.
“As patron of the British Equestrian Federation, I – along with our entire country – could not be prouder of every member of Team GB for your tremendous tally of medals at the Paris 2024 Games,” she said.
“I am full of admiration for your skill, passion and determination and I send my warmest congratulations to you all.”
British Equestrian (BEF) performance director Helen Nicholls told H&H it had been a very busy couple of weeks – and that the journey home is always better when there are medals on board.
“For the athletes I feel huge pride and relief, and I’m so, so pleased they got what they deserved,” she said. “When you go to the Games with human and equine athletes of the calibre Great Britain has, all you hope is that things will go well for them, and they get the opportunity to deliver what they’re capable of. And when they do, that’s job done.”
Helen said her job is similar to that of a conductor in an orchestra; with all the groundwork and preparation on all fronts before the Games, if all goes well, it is about overseeing the results of that, and knowing when to step in and when not to is key.
But that huge amount of preparation that goes into any championship is often unseen.
“Everyone sees the medals but not the work that goes on to get there,” she said. “I think that’s really important; you see Scott Brash riding that last round and he’s a genius and amazing, but he wasn’t born into it or just given a good horse; to see the journey he has been on to get there is incredible.”
One key to success, Helen added, is the collaboration; the disciplines working together to share positives and learnings.
“We work together as a team and the athletes couldn’t be prouder of each other, and wanted to make sure each was as successful as the other,” she said. “In our accommodation, you wouldn’t know any difference between disciplines and when one won a medal, the others were there to welcome them home.”
The team had to go to Paris straight after the emergence of the video for which Charlotte Dujardin was suspended, but Helen said the response was a united one.
“When you go to any championship you expect something to go wrong,” she said. “This was at the extreme end but you just keep to your system and protect the performance. Our athletes don’t deserve to have their preparation derailed so we protect them at all costs and I think we did that incredibly well. It’s testament to the sport and sport media and people involved that allowed us to do that. Other sports might have turned on themselves but we felt it was a fair and reasonable response from everybody, and everybody pulled their arms together tighter.”
Preparations for the Paralympics (3-4 and 6-7 September) are now in their final stages, as attention turns back to Versailles.
“We’re getting ready to go out there, and the Olympics will have given them the confidence to kick on to take their opportunity to deliver what they’re capable of too,” Helen said.
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