"Everything Happens for a Reason" Natasha Baker - Paraolympic Gold Medalist Dressage Rider

When Natasha Baker was only 10 years old, she told her mom that she was going to be an Olympic Gold Medalist. She had been riding horses her whole life, and with her mom being and eventer and her dad being a racecar driver, competition was a major part of her family life. However, no one was prepared for what happened when Natasha was only 14 years old. She contracted a rare virus which damages the tissue connecting the nerves in her spine to the rest of her body, leaving the lower half of her body disabled, and making it hard for Natasha to walk.

She started rehabilitation, and all she would talk about was horses. Her therapist thought that riding would be a good way to help her learn more muscle control and become more mobile. She started riding again and excelled, winning a national title on her favorite pony at her first competition. In the year 2000, she was watching the paraolympic games in Sydney, and the first ever para dressage competition was broadcasted. Natasha was mesmerized by how the horse and rider seemed to be dancing. That's when she decided that she was going to be an Olympic gold medalist in para olympic dressage.

In 2008 she qualified for the Bejing para olympics for expirence and was not in the running for the medals, though if she would have been she would have earned an individual bronze medal. She qualified for the 2012 para olympics in London, and recieved not one but two gold medals in  only 48 hours, one for her freestyle and another individual gold for her score of 82%, her personal best score. 'I have loads of superstitions,' Natasha said. 'I had a McDonalds on opening ceremony night, which was a bit cheeky, and it was before my first day of competing. It went so well on the first day that I have had one each other night before I competed, and it was the same meal each time - chicken mayo.' 


Congratulations to Natasha and her horse, well done!