TEAM USA enjoyed a superb opening day of para dressage action on Tuesday at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with two golds and a silver in the first three Individual medal events at Château de Versailles.

Rebecca Hart kick-started the gold rush in Grade III by winning her first individual medal at her fifth Games on Floratina, having previously finished fourth in Beijing and fifth at London 2012. “It’s been 25 years of trying to get to this point and being close many, many times,” she said. “To actually get it, I feel like I’m going to wake up at any moment. It’s just surreal. It feels like a dream.”

Dutch rider Rixt van der Horst took silver with 76.433% – her sixth Paralympic medal overall at her third Games - on new horse Royal Fonq. Britain’s Natasha Baker, in her first Paralympic Games since becoming a mother last year, took bronze with her ninth Paralympic medal after six golds and two silvers - on Dawn Chorus with 73.167%.

Proud

For Ireland, it was mixed emotions as Kate Kerr-Horan, at her second Paralympics, just missed out on qualification for Saturday’s Freestyle final with Lykkebo’s Don Akino. A new combination and a last-minute call up to the Games for the nine-year-old who replaced Kerr-Horan’s first choice Serafina T, they scored 65.867% to finish ninth.

“I am never happy as a dressage rider,” Kerr-Horan said afterwards. “I am always looking for more and I always want more. But he stayed with me in there, I had no expectations because I know it is such a big ask for him at this stage in our partnership and I am just happy he stayed with me and he coped with it.”

Twenty-three-year-old Jessica McKenna was competing at her first Games aboard the 14-year-old gelding Davidoff 188; the pair made their championship debut last summer at the European Championships. A lovely fluid test saw them score 65.033% to finish just behind Kerr-Horan in 10th place.

Speaking afterwards, McKenna said: “I was really happy with it. Overall I am just delighted to get into that arena and do the job. This is just our second year competing together so to get to this stage in such a short amount of time together is brilliant.

"It’s only the start of my career so I hope to have plenty more opportunities.”

High Performance director Debora Pijpers was pleased with the two performances.

“We’re very happy with both of the girls and their horses. Kate and Lykkebo’s Don Akino had a really good experience. It was a very consistent test with lots of fluent moments, and while it’s a little disappointing for her that she was just edged out of qualification for the Freestyle, she can be extremely proud of finishing ninth at the Paralympics.

“Jessica started really strongly with some excellent marks early on – she was very positive on Davidoff 188, riding very nicely. It was a little unfortunate that she dropped down a little, losing points at her leg yields and her walks but it was an excellent test on her Paralympics debut.”