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Much of Versailles’ gilded grandeur was made off with during the 1789 French Revolution but it was Great Britain who snatched the gold from under French noses at their Olympics.
Laura Collett praised her prince of a horse as he delivered another Olympic title in the garden of France’s famous Sun King.
Louis XIV’s palace seems the fitting venue for Team GB to make the top of the podium for the first time in Paris, meaning they remain the only nation that have won a gold medal at every Olympics dating back to 1896.
Collett and Tom McEwen won team gold three years ago in Tokyo and joined forces with Ros Canter to defend their title, as hosts France and Japan completed the podium.
They’ll get the medals while their respective horses, London 52, JL Dublin and Lordships Graffalo will just get the treats.
“I wanted to have been sat on a nervous horse but thankfully he rose to the occasion,” she said. “He loves showing off and he thinks he’s right at home with the palace in the background and everyone watching him. He’s waited three years for a full stadium.
“The noise was unreal but it didn’t distract him at all. He’s a true professional and I think he knew what was at stake. I wouldn’t wanted to have sat on any other horse.
“We knew coming here we stood a good chance because the horsepower Team GB has at the moment is second to none, we could have fielded another team with the reserves as they could have won a gold medal.”
It’s been a difficult few days for the British equestrian team in Paris, following the suspension of six-time Olympic dressage medallist Charlotte Dujardin, after footage emerged of her repeatedly whipping a horse in training.
But Collett insists the team’s performance would not be possible if horses were mistreated.
“It’s huge for our sport for people to see our horses go out there and look a million dollars,” she added. “There is a huge team behind us that make it possible and horses don’t perform like that if they are not happy. Our job was to focus on our horses and show the world that they are the real stars of the show, we are just the ones that get to enjoy these moments on them.”
Britain had a slender five-point advantage heading into the decisive jumping and after Canter picked up just four penalties and McEwen went clear, Collett had the luxury of knowing she could knock down four fences and still win.
France’s final rider whipped up the crowd as Collett entered the arena, the Entente Cordiale creaking, but Collett and London 52 were nerveless under the most intense pressure.
“I wasn’t that nervous watching her,” said McEwen. “She jumped amazingly, I thought I would be more nervous, I much prefer doing it myself to be honest.
“But it was a class round from Laura, and it was poetry in motion.”
Collett and McEwen could also add to their medal haul in the individual event later today, sitting third and fourth in those standings.
These equestrians are made of tough stuff – Collett spent seven days in coma 11 years ago after a fall which left her blind in her right eye.
She wears special goggles in bright sunlight, which she certainly needed as temperatures reached 34C in Versaille.
She describes London 52 as her horse of a lifetime, though he was outside her budget when first spotted in Germany. Instead, she clubbed together with co-owners Karen Bartlett and Keith Scott, training the horse at her base in the Cotswolds.
Collett later added to her medal haul by taking bronze in the individual eventing, also riding London 52.
Watch every moment of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics
