Laura Collett never had a Plan B. Not when she left school at 16, not when she nearly died nine years later after a horrific horse riding accident. “I was useless at everything and anything school-related and I had one focus and one dream and that was to get on and make a career out of eventing,” she says, three days after winning gold in that equestrian sport and bronze in the individual competition.
In an Olympics awash with inspiring stories and tales of grit and resilience, Collett’s story is nonetheless remarkable. On paper, she shouldn’t even be in Paris; she shouldn’t even be back on a horse.
