" The perception of the kind of horses we should compete has changed , and many of us now have top sport horses "
Natasha Baker ( GBR )
QUALITY
The quality of horses competing in Para Dressage today is top-notch . Another rider who enjoyed a great run at München-Riem was 36-year-old Rodolpho Riskalla from Brazil , who finished third in the Grade IV Team Test and second in the individual before winning the Kur with the fabulous Don Frederic 3 . Just two weeks earlier , the pair won Individual Grade IV in Mannheim ( GER ). Riskalla knows he is very fortunate to have the support of top owners . Back in 2017 , he had no horse to step in for Warenne who took him to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games on his home soil , less than a year after losing both feet , all the fingers on his right hand and some from the left due to the effects of a devastating bout of bacterial meningitis . But a chance meeting with Olympian , Germany ' s Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff , led to the generous offer of Don Henrico , a grandson of Donnerhall , with whom he collected two silver medals at the FEI World Equestrian Games 2018 in Tryon , USA .
Then Don Frederic arrived at Ann- Kathrin ' s Gestut Schafhof early in 2019 . Riskalla ' s sister , Victoria , was working there at the time and reckoned the new arrival would suit her brother admirably and that summer , Rodolpho was invited to try the horse who was subsequently purchased for him by Brazilian friends and sponsors , Tania Loeb Wald and her husband Arnaldo .
" I ' m hoping Don Frederic will be the one to take me to Tokyo !", Riskalla says . He is not the first Para-Dressage athlete that Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff has supported . She is delighted to be involved but says she needs a personal attachment to the individual concerned , " and in the case of Rodolpho he is such a remarkable personality that it ' s a pleasure to help him !
" I have a lot of respect for the strength and the power these sports people have in their situation , and I am very thankful that I can help . These Para riders are role models ", says the lady who won Dressage team gold for Germany at the Olympic Games in Seoul ( KOR ) in 1988 .
GOLD
Great Britain ' s Natasha Baker already has five Paralympic gold medals in her trophy cabinet and is hoping to add some more this summer . However , this time around , the 31-year-old rider won ' t be relying on Cabral , the former event horse who changed his career-path to become a true legend when carrying her to double-gold in London in 2012 and triple gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games .
Cabral , better known as JP , passed away in 2017 , and the search for his replacement hasn ' t been easy . But with her new ride , Keystone Dawn Chorus , Baker is right back in the game and battling for a spot in the British team for Tokyo .
They first met when she was on the hunt for a horse at just the right time because Landolt realised that Cabral wasn ' t brave enough to continue Eventing and wanted to find a new outlet for him . " He wasn ' t going to be a Jumper or a Dressage horse either , so I wondered if he would do Para ? I really wanted him to go to a home where he could do something right ", says the man who competes in Eventing and Advanced level Dressage and is also a national Dressage , FEI Eventing and Para Dressage judge .
As history would reveal , Cabral found the perfect home . " With Tash it all fell into place ", Landolt says .
CALIBRE
Baker competes in Grade 3 and says the calibre of Para Dressage horses has rapidly improved since the London Games . " The perception of the kind of horses we should compete has changed , and many of us now have top sport horses " comments Natasha Baker ( GBR ).
Her new ride Keystone Dawn Chorus is better known as Lottie . " She is so powerful , and I ' m so lucky with her . She ' s the first horse I ' ve taken to an open field for a big canter , and it was such a wonderful feeling that I cried my eyes out afterwards !" Baker says .
Finding the right horse is no easy task , however . " They are like the smallest needle in the biggest haystack ! Sometimes riders fall in love with a horse , but it may not be right for us , so somebody has to have the courage to say no , it ' s not suitable . They must be safe , and they must be sensible ", she points out . Christian Landolt believes there are many more Para horses out there just waiting to be found if owners were just a bit more flexible about the expectations they have for them .
" When we have a horse , we shouldn ' t be greedy and try to sell them for the most money we can get , we need to listen to them and try to find a job they will excel at . And it doesn ' t matter what that job is - whether it ' s a happy hacker or Grand Prix or Para - as long as they , and their rider , enjoy it then that ' s all we should be trying to achieve ", he says .
PERFECT PATH
One owner who has found the perfect path for her horse is Swedish athlete Johanna Forssell . The 25-year-old Dressage rider who was seriously injured in a car crash in January 2019 is keen to get back in the competition ring with her lovely mare , Feldnoble , but has decided to pass over the ride to Para-athlete Felicia Grimmenhag while continuing her recovery . It was a very generous offer that 27-year-old Grimmenhag could hardly resist .
Forssell is set to become a Para rider herself , but feels that her 12-year-old horse is too much for her just yet . So , knowing that Grimmenhag was looking for a replacement ride following the retirement of Tarot E , who carried her to the European Championships in both Gothenburg in 2017 and Rotterdam in 2019 , contacted her on social media .
Grimmenhag could hardly believe her luck , and a hastily organised test ride proved that the new pairing just might work well . Feldnoble competed in the 4-year-old category at the Danish Young Horse Championships in 2016 with Patricia Florin and is still on a learning curve , so Forssell sees the new arrangement as ideal because Grimmenhag will provide the nine-year-old with plenty of useful experience . Both parties will benefit , and the horse will mature in good hands .
DECISION
It wasn ' t an easy decision to make because the much-loved horse has been in Forssell ' s stable for the last five years . But the slight chance that the new pairing might make the cut for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics gives an extra edge of excitement to it all . And Forssell also has her dream .
" When I heard that Felicia was looking for a new horse there was no question about it . I ' d been in contact with her previously about me getting back up on the horse and where to begin . Para-riding was a completely new world for me , and Felicia has been such a great support . Since she has so much more experience than me I felt like this was the perfect opportunity for all of us .
" Of course it ' s hard to be away from my dear Feldnoble , but I also know she is well taken care of by Felicia . We are in constant contact and I follow along on both their journeys .
" In the meantime I ' m training every day , getting stronger so that I can compete again . My goal is to compete at the highest level of Para Dressage , and hopefully Feldnoble will be with me when that time comes !"•
EVERYTHING HORSE MAGAZINE : JULY 2021 • 47