Natasha Baker

Started: She took up riding at age nine with the Riding for the Disabled Association [RDA]. "After watching the Sydney Paralympics in 2000, at 10 years old, I announced to my parents that one day I was going to win a gold medal." (LinkedIn profile, 18 Jul 2022; farmologie.co.uk, 01 Mar 2021) Reason: She grew up on a farm and was surrounded by horses from a young age. It was also recommended to her that riding a horse could be good for her impairment. (farmologie.co.uk, 01 Mar 2021; natasha-baker.com, 01 Sep 2018; equestrianteamgbr.co.uk, 23 Jul 2014) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (natasha-baker.com, 01 Jan 2024) Awards: She was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [OBE] in the 2022 New Year Honours list. She was previously appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in 2013. (gov.uk, 01 Jan 2022; natasha-baker.com, 01 Sep 2018) After the 2012 Paralympic Games in London she was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Hillingdon and the City of London. (horseandrider.co.uk, 01 Sep 2020) Additional Info: MOTHERHOOD In 2022 she took a break from competition in order to start a family. She have birth to her son Joshua in April 2023 before returning to the sport with a view to competing at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. "Out of everything I've ever done, Joshua is definitely my biggest achievement. To have Joshua in the crowd [in Paris], if I'm lucky enough to get selected, would be amazing. Before, your career is everything to you. Now, Joshua and Marc [her husband] are my life and my identity. Being a good mum is my priority." (hellomagazine.com, 21 May 2023) AMBASSADOR ROLE In October 2022 she began serving as an ambassador for the British Horse Society [BHS]. "My main objective in working with the BHS is to try and get as many people into horse riding as possible. Horses have been a part of my life since day one and they've made me who I am today. Being around horses is the most amazing opportunity, because they're our best friends and they give us so much - it's a feeling like no other. I would love to help more children and adults to be able to have that opportunity - I want more bums in saddles." (bhs.org.uk, 27 Oct 2022) MEDIA WORK She began doing media work related to equestrian sport at the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, as she was not competing at the event. Since then she has worked for FEI TV at World Cup competitions, and also co-hosted the 2018 International Equestrian Federation [FEI] Awards in Manama, Bahrain, with Spanish dressage athlete Juan Matute Guimon. "I've never been so nervous in my life. I travelled out there a couple of days ahead of the awards and worked with colleagues from the FEI to write the script, and then we rehearsed a few times too. Once I started though it was all fine and I loved every minute of it. Even in all my years of competition I've never had such a high as I had after that. I was awake until 05:00 running on adrenaline." (LinkedIn profile, 16 Jul 2023; fei.org, 12 Apr 2019) DEALING WITH NERVES She says she has learned the importance of which horse she is riding in relation to managing competition nerves. "I think some nerves are a good thing as long as you can direct them in the correct way. Each horse I have ridden is so different, and you can use your nerves, or excitement, as I prefer to call it, to work for you. So for JP [also known as Cabral], he was super sensitive, so I had to be very calm and measured with him to ensure he was relaxed. With Lottie and my old mare Sooki, they prefer to be ridden with a bit more gusto and drive - this is much easier to direct the butterflies too. I think it's really important to work on your own psychology and then learn how to use this in your warm-up to suit the horse. But at the end of the day, no matter where you're riding, whether it's at home or at the Paralympics, it's just you, your horse and the whiteboards - the same test, just a different arena." (sophiefrancesequestrian.com, 13 Dec 2020)

Sporting Relatives: Her mother rode competitively in jumping and eventing. (natasha-baker.com, 01 Sep 2018)