Some people might say that sport really can change your life.
For those of us who enjoy it recreationally, work for sports organisations or compete at sports ourselves, there are many ways in which our lives are enriched to different degrees, but for one person especially sport really has had a life changing effect.
In 2011, Natasha Baker bought home two individual gold medals for Britain in the European Championships, and this year made her Paralympic Games debut, not only winning the first equestrian gold for Britain at Greenwich Park but setting a Paralympic record with her score.
And it all started back in 2000, on her living room sofa, watching Lee Pearson at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games.
Speaking recently to Team GBR Natasha said ‘I remember very clearly watching the 2000 Paralympic Games on TV and saying to my parents ‘I want to do that.’ I found my local club and went from there. Now I’ve got two gold medals! I can’t put in to words how much sport has influenced my life.’
Following on from the unprecedented success across the board for our Olympic and Paralympic teams at the Games this year, British Dressage were keen to take advantage of the excitement and interest generated in a sport that so often gets overlooked by mainstream audiences. And maybe, just maybe, light a spark for someone that could one day change their lives.
So, this week our ever enthusiastic Para Officer, Amy Cullen, took herself and mechanical horse Queenie down to Surrey Sports Park to take part in Sports Fest 2012. Led by the British Paralympic Association (BPA), the two day event attracted over 1000 visitors all there to ‘try the sports, meet the medallists and get inspired.’
Among the 40 athletes and 24 sports represented were our golden girls Sophie Christiansen, Natasha Baker and Debbie Criddle. Along with team mates Sophie Wells and Lee Pearson, these girls had stormed the 2012 Paralympic medal table, bringing home five golds, five silvers and one bronze and maintaining our position as the undefeated nation for Team Gold ever since the first equestrian Paralympic events during the Atlanta games in 1996.
RDA coaches were on hand with Amy to help provide the taster sessions, and people were queuing round the block to have a sit on the famous Queenie and to see the girls’ gold medals.
Amy said; ‘It was really exciting that so many people wanted to come and see what para equestrianism is all about. We always had a queue around the stand much to the envy of the other sports, but eventually they caught the bug too and came to have a sit on Queenie. From weightlifters to cyclists and judo players, everybody wanted to have a go!’
C4 were filming at the event and managed to get footage of ‘The Last Leg’ presenter Alex Brooker testing his riding skills on Queenie - be sure to tune in over Christmas to catch the programme.
Queenie has been touring the UK as part of the British Equestrian Federation’s Olympic Legacy campaign, Hoof, which aims to make riding accessible to more people across the UK. For more details on hoof, and how you can help to get more people involved in our sport, whatever their experience, go to www.hoofride.co.uk
For the full BPA write up go to http://www.paralympics.org.uk/news/paralympicsgb-sports-fest-hailed-a-fantastic-success, and for more information on our Paralympic team check out http://www.paralympics.org.uk/sports/equestrian .