Her smile shone as brightly as the Swarovski crystals on her custom-made riding hat as she picked up Britain’s first gold medal of the Games yesterday.
Laura Collett, 34, who is blind in one eye after a horror fall, triumphed in the team eventing alongside Ros Canter and Tom McEwen at the Château de Versailles on Monday.
Ms Collett, who had to be resuscitated five times after falling from a horse in 2013, then went on to pick up bronze in the individual eventing competition less than two hours later – to the delight of the thousands of British fans who packed out the sweltering arena as temperatures reached 32 degrees.
She said it was ‘pretty cool’ to win Team GB‘s first gold before paying tribute to her horse, London 52.
The rider from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said the ‘many years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears’ were worth it.
Laura Collett, 34, who is blind in one eye after a horror fall, triumphed in the team eventing alongside Ros Canter and Tom McEwen at the Château de Versailles on Monday
Collett went blind in one eye eleven years ago after she was flung to the ground by her horse and it then fell on top of her
Ms Collett (pictured riding a horse in 1996 aged six) said she hoped her win would inspire children and show them riding wasn’t a sport reserved for the wealthy
‘I never thought this day would come,’ she said afterwards.
‘An emotional rollercoaster doesn’t even do it justice. But for moments like this, every single bad day is so worth it, and you just have to never give up and never lose hope, you can never dream too big.’
The team were handed their gold medals by the Princess Royal, making her first appearance at the Paris Games after her own horse riding accident last month.
Ms Collett said she hoped her win would inspire children and show them riding wasn’t a sport reserved for the wealthy.
She was raised by her mother Tracey after her father walked out aged ten. Tracey – who was in the stands watching yesterday – worked as a nursery school teacher in the week and at a petrol station at the weekends to fund her daughter’s hobby.
It was during a cross-country event 11 years ago that Ms Collett was flung to the ground before her horse – all 110st of it – fell on top of her.
She had to be resuscitated in an ambulance before she was taken to hospital and placed in an induced coma for six days. She suffered a fractured shoulder, broken ribs, a punctured lung, a lacerated liver and damage to her kidneys.
A fragment of her shoulder bone had also travelled to her right eye through her blood stream, damaging the optic nerve and leaving her unable to see out of it. It means she is no longer even allowed to drive her own horse box.
Then in 2015 there was further heartbreak when she was trusted with training the legendary steeplechaser Kauto Star in dressage after his retirement from racing. But he suffered a freak accident at her yard and had to be euthanised.
Ms Collett was devastated and then received abuse and even death threats online from trolls who accused her of ‘treating him like he was in a circus’.
She said the abuse was the ‘hardest thing I ever had to deal with’ and opened her eyes to a ‘very cruel world’.
But she triumphed in the team eventing in Tokyo with Mr McEwen.
In Paris, the team (from left-to-right: Rosalind Canter, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen) enjoyed a perfect opening day, chalking up record low scores for the dressage phase both as a group and for Collett individually
Ms Collett, who had to be resuscitated five times after falling from a horse in 2013, then went on to pick up bronze in the individual eventing competition less than two hours later
In Paris, the team enjoyed a perfect opening day, chalking up record low scores for the dressage phase both as a group and for Collett individually. They were top after Saturday’s cross-country stage.
Mr McEwen, 33, went on to ride a clear jumping round yesterday. Ms Canter, 38, and Ms Collett both knocked a fence down but it was good enough to seal gold ahead of France and Japan.
The medal takes them to a total of five team golds, making them the most successful eventing nation in history.
Ms Collett said: ‘I’m on top of the world. I have never, ever ridden into an atmosphere like that.’
It comes after a difficult few days for equestrian sport after a video of teammate Charlotte Dujardin whipping her horse led to her quitting the Games.
It also promoted calls for horse sports to be banned from the Olympic Games with some fans watching yesterday fearing this would be the last time they would feature.
Among those who had travelled to support Team GB was solicitor Sophie Hughes, 55, and her daughter Jossie, 15, from Devizes, Wiltshire.
Mrs Hughes said: ‘I have so much respect and admiration for them. It was the most amazing and emotional sporting event I have ever witnessed.’
