Posted: 12th September 2017 | Back to news feed
Nicola Naylor: Riding to the Top
Nicola Naylor will this week compete in the National Dressage Championships, in Warwickshire for the first time. No stranger to dressage, having completed in para dressage championships a number of times, this is the first time that Nicola, who is registered blind, will compete in the able-bodied summer championships.
Nicola came to dressage as an adult, after giving up show jumping in her younger years. Partially sighted as a child, she lost her sight completely in her twenties, and now has only a little light perception in one eye. Inspired to come back to riding in 2011, when her daughter took up dressage, Nicola has been training with Dan Watson since 2012, where she has flourished with her three horses.
Travelling for four hours by public transport to get to her horses can be a bit of an ‘ordeal’ for Nicola, but she is dedicated, and loves training. Her and Dan work well together as a team and have put systems in place to make sure she is able to do her best at competition – like Dan accompanying her to the arena and calling the letters from X, to steer her round and enable her to get her bearings. Blind riders don't just form a partnership with their horse but have to work as a team with the person in the arena with them.
Although Nicola likes to be as independent as possible at shows, once on the horse she needs someone to be with her at all times. The most challenging part of any competition is the collecting ring, and more so at the nationals where it is likely to be crowded. Many of the riders may not be aware she is blind and so she needs to be extra careful.
Riding in previous para dressage competitions, Nicola vehemently disagreed with the 2015 FEI ruling that all blind Paralympian riders should compete in para grade III - and wear a blindfold - speaking out to say it was an ‘enormous shock’ to further disable a disabled person in this way. Her personal experience of wearing a blindfold whilst qualifying for the para winter championships left her feeling drained, and still reliving the fear of being in the arena blind-folded some six hours later.
Thankfully, this ruling has now been overturned, but Nicola is now looking forward to achieving her goal of competing in the able bodied national dressage championships next week. She explains: “for me competing as a para and as an able-bodied rider are dual goals, but first and foremost I want to measure myself and be measured as a rider.’
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