I still can’t quite believe its 2012! It only seems like a year ago it was announced that London won the bid for the Olympics and Paralympics and now we are finally here… Exciting!!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I had a great break, we had a quiet Christmas with family which made a change, we normally have lots of friends around and it’s a little crazy to say the least! I was spoilt and got lots of lovely presents and my parents cooked an amazing Christmas dinner (always the best part of Christmas if you ask me!) A few days later, the 30th, it was my 22nd birthday so I went up to Christians house (the owner of JP) as we share the same birthday. I had a super day with close friends and my parents and an amazing lunch at Whatley Manor with a few cocktails (got to be done!!) I then came home to see my boyfriend who had just got back from his skiing holiday who spoilt me for the evening! We saw in 2012 at a party where we danced the night away!

All of the horses had Christmas day and my birthday off but it was straight back to it in the New Year, especially as JP had his first competition on 8th Jan at Vale View. He had been working well up to the competition and was feeling prepared. I was pleased with my 1st test, although he started a little tense he settled into it and got some 9s for his walk. In the 2nd test he went in feeling a lot softer and chilled producing some amazing trot work however I felt as though he dropped off of my leg a little in the walk work and was anticipating the transitions therefore dropping me a little. Overall I was pleased with the day and came away happy with my 76.6% and 73.8% tests knowing that there was plenty of more in the tank for later in the year when I need it!!

BamBams training is coming along well. He is a lot more responsive to my aids now and is getting stronger and more balanced. I went for some lessons with Emile last week and he was over the moon with the way they are both going. We worked on the engagement of their hind legs a lot over the two days and did this using leg yielding and spiralling in and out on a circle in trot and canter. I am taking Bambam to our second competition together on Sunday to do two Prelims so I am really excited about that!

Social Media

I am really fortunate that my boyfriend is a social media expert and web developer and he has created a new custom Facebook page for me! Check it out on www.facebook.com/nbakerpararider.

EDF Energy

I have a few events coming up in January with EDF that I am really excited about. One was last week where I gave a motivational talk to everyone who works at London Eye in the Debating Chambers in Westminster. It’s a beautiful place and rather large; I had an audience of over 250! I had great fun; they asked lots of great questions and gave me brilliant feedback so I am really excited for the next one in Exeter later this month.

Hasn’t this year just flown by? I know I sound old when I say that but it really has!! I can’t believe that London 2012 is just around the corner… the competition I have been aiming at for about 10 years is finally upon us, what an exciting time ahead.

After the Europeans and Nationals JP had a well deserved break and went to stay with Christian for a month in the field to get fairy and fat! He has travelled so much this year, all over the UK and Europe and did me proud, the least I could do was give him a some time off.

New Horse!!!

After my long, long search I have found a new horse!! He is called Bam Bam (yes, that is his show name too!!!!) he is a 5 year old, bright bay, KWPN by Johnson. Whilst having a lesson at Emile’s one day my mum got chatting to a lady and her rider about me and mentioned that we were looking for a horse; Viv described Bam Bam and he sounded perfect however he was a few years younger than I anticipated. After a few emails and watching a video mum and I decided to jump into the car and go and have a ride, I had nothing to loose! When we got to Viv and Ben’s yard and met Bam Bam I fell in love instantly, he was beautiful and had quite a character. I could tell from Ben riding him how trainable he was, even giving rein back a go when he had no idea what he was being asked to do! He had a super temperament, didn’t mind the rain thundering down on the roof or the noisy tractor going past the school – some horses even freak out at me walking towards them with my stick!! Once I sat on I knew he was the horse for me. He was so responsive to my aids, absorbing everything like a sponge, he had such amazing paces for his age and I knew that he would only get stronger. I did’t want to finish my ride and was very excited about the potential partnership.

Viv and Ben were fantastic and offered to take him to Emile’s so I could have a lesson and then allowed me to have him home for a weeks trial. They wanted it to be the perfect partnership as much as I did! After everything we went ahead with a vetting and bought him.

Bam Bam has settled in extremely well and is very happy in his new home. Training is going brilliantly and he is getting stronger and fitter every week, I am so pleased with his progress. I took him to our first competition together at Windmill Farm and he didn’t put a foot wrong, he behaved impeccably and didn’t spook at a thing, very grown-up for a 5 year old! We only did one Prelim as I don’t want to push him too hard too fast however he ended up with an amazing 71.7% and was 1st! I was a very, very proud mum and couldn’t have asked any more of him, he was a star!

JP

JP is back from his holiday now and is starting work again after a couple of weeks of hacking and lunging and is feeling better than ever!! We are using his new Black Country Saddle and I can’t tell you how much it has improved his freedom and suppleness. His first para competition is on 17th December at Patchetts and that is a Winter Qualifier.

Sponsorship and PR

I have been a busy bee with lots of PR and Sponsors Events. I was asked to EDFs annual dinner last week at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London where employees could have their photograph taken with me and the real Olympic Torches from Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010. It was a great evening with fantastic people, gorgeous food and of course lots of dancing!! Jon Culshaw, impressionist and comedian, was the other special guest of the evening and entertained us with his after dinner speech.

The National Lottery invited me along with 46 other athletes representing each sport in the Olympics and Paralympics to a Press day and photo shoot to celebrate the support and funding of the National Lottery; £2.2billion is going into the Olympics and Paralympics and they have invested £6billion into sport since 1994. The shoot was named “The Class of 2012″ so we all dressed up in our National Lottery school uniforms for the event. It was great to meet so many new people from all the different sports and I have made some great new friends who I will hopefully be seeing in the Olympic village in 2012.

Sainsbury’s is the official sponsor of the Paralympic Games and I am the Paralympic representative athlete of Region 26 which covers West London. I was invited along to their Team Leaders meeting to speak to the employees and tell them about my story and ambitions in London and beyond. I had a great day with them with lots of team building activities and motivational talks. I can’t wait for my next Sainsbury’s day.

I don’t think my feet have touched the floor, I am definitely still on cloud 9!! After winning the first day by a very small margin I knew I had to go out all guns blazing if I stood a chance of winning Gold in the individual. I was 10th to go in the class so it was a lot better than 4th the previous day. Petra had already been and I knew she had got just over 72%. I felt so confident and knew that if I had a good, mistake free test that I could win a medal. I went around the arena, the bell went and I entered. Perfect halt, good centre line and lovely medium. Even my turn on the haunches were pretty good. I had a little jog in my walk and I was so disappointed, as it was so close the day before I knew I couldn’t throw away silly marks. I didn’t let it affect me, I just rode my heart out in the last few movements hoping that it would make up for it.
I was really pleased with my test. The things I had worked on came off and it felt so good. There was a new set of judges from the first day and as a result they were marking slightly harder than the day before so I wasn’t expecting another 74%.
When I left the arena and came out the whole team was there congratulating JP and I and saying how lovely it was. My result came over the loud speaker… I was so nervous I was shaking, I felt my heart pounding, I had no idea what it would be… They announced ‘We have a new leader’ o wow… ‘Natasha Baker has gone into first place with 73.286%’!!!!! O WOW!!! I didn’t want to get too excited as there were still a few competitors to come, including Britta from Germany who was 3rd the day before.
The class was coming to an end and I had stayed at the top of the board. I waited patiently for Britta and sat nervously under the interactive scoreboard during her test trying to work out if what it would all add up to… Just over 72%… I had won a Gold Medal!!!! I was speechless! I never expected in a million years I would go to my first ever championships and come away with a Gold Medal!!! I was the new EUROPEAN CHAMPION!!!!!!!!! I still can’t find the words to explain exactly how it feels and it defiantly hasn’t sunk in!
The prize giving was just amazing. It was my dream come true. Hearing the National Anthem being played for me and having a gold medal hung around my neck standing on the top step of the podium was the most incredible feeling!!!
I was amazed that I was able to carry on my success for the freestyle to music. I had a major spook in the middle of my test when the roof of the judges box flipped up and rain came pouring off as I trotted past. JP regained focus immediately and carried on as though nothing happened. I ended on 76.25% and another Gold! To be honest I don’t quite know what else to say apart from it was the best week of my life!! I am the luckiest girl to have such a supportive team. I couldn’t of done it without my mum, dad, boyfriend, Christian, Sacha, Emile and the World Class team. Let’s hope I can add another 3 Golds to my collection next year!!

First I need to apologise for no blog yesterday, it was so late by the time I got back to the hotel I went straight to bed! To be honest, it will be a quick one tonight too as I am so tired!!

I had the most amazing day today. I was the last rider and all the GB riders were hard acts to follow all winning their grades and a 1st and 2nd in the 1a’s!!! I was very excited but so was JP!!! We had a hair raising moment in the warm up, not quite sure why, but I managed to stay calm and re-gain what I had before! He felt lovely going around the arena and we performed a nice flowing, soft test. When I came out I heard I had got 70%, I was so pleased with that as it’s my first ever Europeans and there were a few little blips in the test. I came out and all of the team were there cheering me and saying congratulations! It was great!! I then heard however that we had got it wrong… I had gained 74.4%!!!! I instantly started crying, from happiness obviously!!! I was in complete shock, I really didn’t believe it!!

I managed to maintain my lead with very good competition including the current World and European Champion! It ended very very close with a Dutch rider less than .5% behind!!!

I really have had the most incredible day! I hope that I can stay successful throughout the competition and gain a medal… That would be a dream come true!

All going well in Belgium!! JP has settled in really well and had a good night sleep. We had an arena walk this morning and then worked him in the warm-up area. Not all the countries have arrived yet. We have some nice stables and are sharing with the Irish and Portuguese riders. Will Connell has spent all morning decorating our stables and it looks great… Very patriotic!!

Sophie Wells and I rode outside as that is where we will be competing. The arenas are really nice and we have lots of room for all the riders. It’s been a beautiful day too which makes it even better. As the journey out here was so short JP didn’t feel tired, he felt really up for it and focused so it’s a great start to the week! Sacha rode him first and gave him a good stretch then I got on and worked on some of the movements from my test.

We have had a quiet afternoon, we are going back to the venue later for dinner and then we have a meeting at 9 tonight to find out what our plan is for tomorrow. We have the trot up at 10am and the opening ceremony at 5pm so it should be a really exciting day, I will be sure to take lots of pictures!!

Hey guys,

You may of guessed I had some problems with my website so I’m really sorry I haven’t posted in a while! I have some great news… I was selected for the European Championships!!!!! I am so unbelievably excited about my debut and think that it will be a great team. I am currently in the Sponsored Land Rovers on my way to Moorsele, Belgium and will arrive there later today. My competition days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I will be competing outside. I have heard that JP is having a good journey and is tucking into his hay

The five riders that were selected are Anne Dunham, Sophie Christinsen, Deb Cridde, Sophie Wells and myself. Last night we went to Arrow RDA to meet and vet the horses. Unfortunately Sophie C’s horse had a problem and Emma Sheardown was called in last minute as reserve. It must be so hard for Sophie and I really hope her horse is ok but we are looking forward to welcoming Emma onto the team.

I will try and keep you posted on a daily basis with pictures so make sure you come back and follow my amazing journey at the Europeans. Please keep everything crossed!!!!!!

I was very privileged to be one of the 5 riders asked to take part in the Greenwich Test Event for London 2012. It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to ride in what will be the main Olympic and Paralympic arena in the heart of London.

We all met at Arrow RDA Centre in Kent and went via transporter for the horses and minibus for riders and support staff. The venue was outstanding, the amount of work and preparation that had gone on was incredible, I knew it would be great, but it exceeded all my expectations. Lots of thought had gone into preserving the ground so the arena and stabling areas were all on raised platforms! The arena was amazing with the backdrop of London and iconic landmarks, you really didn’t know where to look! LOCOG (London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games) had done such a fantastic job, the cross country course was challenging, with twists and turns, with great viewing points for every spectator, the arena rode well and all the staff and officials were incredibly friendly and helpful.

It was such fun having the opportunity to watch the cross country on Tuesday morning. Mum and Sacha walked the course and left me chatting, which I do quite well!!! People were intrigued by para dressage and wanted to know more about it which is great for raising the profile of the sport and spreading the word. We enjoyed sitting by the water jump, there were so many school children cheering the riders on, it was fantastic to see and created such a lovely atmosphere! At lunch time my dad, boyfriend and his parents arrived to support me later on, it was great to have them all there cheering me on!

It was time to get ready, I was riding at 4.18 and we hadn’t been allowed to get JP out before 3 because of all the eventing. He worked in well considering we weren’t able to do very much with him throughout the day. I walked down to the main arena and it was buzzing!!!! So many people had stayed to watch us which was super. JP was a little tense through the 1st part of my test but he did relax and enjoy himself and did some really good work. I halted at G and had a massive round of applause, JP halted and soaked it all up, I think he was proud of himself, I certainly was, he did so well bless him! We went out and stayed in the hold, I wanted to do it all over again! What an experience!!

We all rushed around and packed up! It was a bit of an anti-climax coming home in the mini bus. Everyone was exhausted, more from the excitement than the physical aspect. We arrived home fairly late Tuesday night and needless to say all slept very well!! It had been a very long but memorable day. We now had to start getting Ready for Hartpury International the following week…

I have been a very busy bee!! Since the French International Competition its been manic!! I have been doing able-bodied competitions, para qualifiers for the Nationals in September, looking for horses, training for the British Champs at Hickstead and Hartpury International…

My able bodied competitions have been going very well, I took JP to Windmill Farm and did two Novice Opens and achieved two wins with 77% & 74%, I was a little shocked to say the least, but they were very good tests I have now as a result qualified for the regionals which is very exciting. The para qualifiers have been going the same way, I achieved 71% at Patchetts winning my class so I am hoping thats enough to qualify me as have been too busy to chase the competitions!

I have been all over the country looking for horses and even Germany!! I think its such a great experience and great character building looking for horses as they are all so unique and different. I have seen such a huge range, big (17.3!!) to small, advanced to novice. Am trying not to get too excited but I have one coming for a weeks trial soon… so will update you with any progress!!

Hickstead… Well it already started off better than the previous year as there was not a single chicken pox spot in sight!! Like I said before France, I felt so prepared, I really felt like it was our time to shine. We performed the team test on the first day, he warmed up beautifully, then whilst going around the outside of the arena before entering something spooked him in the field next door and he shot off in a rather fast canter! It was so out of character for him! We re-gained our rhythm and I started the test. The first half was very tense however after the free walk he seemed to relax and get back into his stride, he did an amazing medium trot at the end, so he earnt back some brownie points!!! I wasnt very pleased with the test as a whole due to the tension at the beginning and knew it would be a tight competition. The other riders in my grade were very pleased with their tests which made me even more nervous as I knew mine was far from perfect. I found out that I got 68%, one of his lowest percentages this year (but we certainly didn’t deserve any higher!) As the rest of the results came out I was amazed to be in the lead, by a very small margin, it was definitely luck!! The next day I was determined to gain 70%+.

I was on early on Saturday morning, it was nice to be finished early so I could have a look around the trade stands!! He warmed up better than the day before and I knew that a good test would allow me to achieve my goal. We were in the International arena, there were a lot more people watching and a lot more activity – but he seemed to like it!! He didn’t look at a thing, he knew his job and he buckled down and got on with it as normal. Going down the centre line at the beginning he felt incredible, I think we were floating!!! We did a lovely test and I knew that it was a billion times better than the day before, I was just hoping that the results would resemble how it felt. Again just after my test I went into the lead with 71% – I was over the moon I achieved my goal, they were tough judges and were not throwing marks away! I managed to maintain my place at the top of the leader board and therefore was Grade II British Champion I was so proud of JP, he was a star (despite the spook the day before) and I really feel that this year we have gained a very special bond, he is amazing and a dream to ride.

Winning both competition days meant that I went forward to the music overall Championships later that day where all the winners of each grade went head to head to crown the overall Champion. JP was fairly tired as were all the other horses at this stage, it was a very hot day and they had worked very hard that morning. We performed a “nice” test to music, it was very accurate and sweet but lacked a little vavavoom that we had in the test before. It was such a tight final with three of us gaining 74% with only a mark or two separating us!! Deb Cridde won the overall Championship with a fantastic 76%, I was second with 74% and closely behind were Emma Sheardown and Sophie Wells. I loved riding my music test, its always the fun part and to come 2nd to some amazing riders was brilliant. I just have to keep everything crossed that we have a great result at Hartpury International next week!

The lead up couldn’t have been any better for my first International of the year. I have never felt so prepared which was brilliant as I felt really confident and knew that all I had to do was ride my best and I could potentially get some great results. We all met at Arrow RDA on Tuesday to drop the horses off and load the horse box with our kit, it was a great atmosphere and everyone was so excited. There were 5 riders in total, Natalie Povey a 1b rider who was going for International experience, Nicky Thompson and Deb Criddle both Grade 3 riders, Debs with a new horse and Nicky riding at her 1st International away from home as a Grade 3, Rosie Andrews a Grade 4 and myself both going for experience. David Hamer, our Chef d’Equipe had arranged for us to stay over near the Euro Tunnel so we could leave early the next morning. We all had dinner together and was sharing stories about our previous trips abroad, both good and bad!

The next morning I woke up and really didn’t feel very well. I knew I hadn’t been nervous but thought maybe subconsciously I was. We went for breakfast and after made our way to the train, I couldn’t wait to get there and see JP but I was still feeling very sick. We had a very quick train over to France and then started our 4hour journey to the venue. I wont go into too much detail but we soon found out that I had caught food poisoning from the fish I had eaten the night before at the hotel. David wasn’t impressed as I didnt have much warning as we were driving along, it resulted in a complete change of clothes at the side of the road and having my modesty covered by coats, highly embarrassing!!!!!

We got to the hotel and needless to say I wasn’t feeling good, I was very weak so went straight to bed. I drunk lots of flat coke and tried watching French TV, it was very boring and I was desperate to see JP but I knew I had to get better quickly as I was riding the next day and competing the day after. Luckily the flat coke worked miracles and I felt a lot better, I was able to ride him for a little while but I definitely wasn’t up to my normal standard. I had an easy day and still couldnt eat a lot – I just kept thinking how much weight I would loose!!!

The 1st day of competition didn’t run that smoothly, the night before my times kept getting changed however it was confirmed just before bed time so we (thought) we were organised. We started our warm up with our normal times and then found out my time had been moved 30mins later.  I walked around the warm up for what felt like hours!! We picked him back up and started working him again with 15mins to go before my test. I had to really wake him up, he thought that he had finished! He went into the main arena and felt amazing, he was really showing off! It was a really buzzy atmosphere, there must have been 50 children that had come to watch on a school trip hanging over the sides of the arena and banging their feet, I was thinking “O NO!!!!!!” however JP didn’t put a hoof out of place and I don’t think he even realised the children were there!! He did an amazing test, especially under the circumstances and I was over the moon with him. I was very close to the end of the class so I knew my results pretty quickly and was so happy to hear I achieved 74.21% and won the class.

The second day went a lot smoother than the first. I was on early and it was very misty. JP warmed up beautifully and I would even say it was the best he has ever gone, I felt really confident going into the test, I was outside so no children banging on the side and no excuse for anything to go wrong! He felt so amazing going around the arena, I knew that I couldn’t of done anything else to make him feel better and felt completely prepared. It was great. The test went very well and I got some of the best work ever, I even managed to get a fab medium trot which is normally our weakest movement. As I was so close to the start of the class I had a long wait for the results to be published, it felt like a lifetime. I was waiting outside for the results to be put on out the loudspeaker along with the Irish and Danish teams who were my main competition. Results were called out in reverse order, 3rd – Danish, 2nd – Irish, 1st – ME!!! I equalled my percentage of day one with another 74% – Pleased was an  understatement! We went out that night with the team for a lovely meal and to celebrate.

The last day went very quickly, I wasn’t on until the afternoon and we had to pack as the horses were leaving that night to go home. I was competing outside again, I warmed up, JP felt a little tired by now but still worked his socks off for me and was such an angel. It was freestyle day and in my opinion the most exciting competition day. I hadn’t ridden my freestyle at a competition many times so I was a little apprehensive and wanted to be on time. I was a little ahead of my music but I don’t think the judges noticed!! He went brilliantly, and sailed through the test. When I found out that I had won again and therefore was overall Grade 2 Champion it was an incredible feeling. It was the best feeling having the National Anthem being played for me and receiving some truly amazing trophies, I just hope its one competition of many in the lead up to me winning a Gold Medal, that really would be a dream come true.

Well this weekend I have been polishing up on my computer skills and have made the above video. I think I have been driving my friend mad with all the questions…”how do I…???” but I am very pleased with the finished product! I hope you enjoy watching it, it brings back some great memories for me, especially the display at the 2009 Windsor European Championships

I’m not going mad, I have called his blog Bon Voyage as I have been selected to compete in France next month. I cant wait!! The horses are leaving on 12th April and we arrive back home on the 18th. There are 5 riders going altogether and we are traveling out there in Land Rovers so it will be a real laugh. We have 3 competition days, including a freestyle to music so I am busy practicing at home, getting ready and making sure its foot perfect.