Profile Paralympian Natasha Baker

ABOVE: NATASHA BAKER COMBINES A SUCCESSFUL PARA DRESSAGE CAREER WITH RAISING AWARENESS OF DISABILITY ISSUES. BELOW: WORKING WITH COACH LISA HOPKINS. PHOTOS: KEVIN SPARROW.

NATASHA’S FAMILY AFFAIR

WHAT A YEAR 2022 HAS BEEN FOR NATASHA BAKER – AND IT’S NOT OVER YET. SHE’S BECOME MRS JACONELLI IN A FAIRY TALE WEDDING AND HER RELATIONSHIP WITH HER TOKYO RIDE, KEYSTONE DAWN CHORUS, HAS GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. THE ICING ON THE CAKE? SELECTION FOR THE FEI PARA DRESSAGE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. HELEN TRIGGS VISITED HER AT HOME TO SEE HOW LIFE IS TREATING HER.

Natasha Baker OBE’s Para Dressage success has taken her to Buckingham Palace, filming with country music legend Shania Twain, the Royal Box at Wimbledon, television appearances including ‘A Question of Sport’ and a celebrity platform she can use to help other disabled people. Not to forget becoming a popular dressage TV commentator. At her first senior championships appearance at the European Championships in 2011, Natasha won gold in both the individual and freestyle grade II events and so began her career as one of Britain’s most successful Para athletes. She won gold medals at London, Rio and Tokyo, as well as setting new Paralympics records for grade II at London. She has achieved her

“EVERYTHING YOU DO TO IMPROVE COUNTS, EVEN IF IT’S JUST MARGINAL GAINS”

success without having a string of horses at her command.

She is very matter-of-fact about her disability. “I’ve had it since I was 14 months old, so I don’t know anything different,” she says. She contracted transverse myelitis and overnight became unresponsive and couldn’t move, cry or talk. While her speech and upper body movement returned, sections of her nervous system were permanently damaged leaving her with weakness and no feeling in her legs.

Intensive physiotherapy, huge family support and a strongwilled character improved her physical condition to the point

where now she can walk short distances on crutches but has to rely on using her voice and movements with her seat to communicate with her horses. She was also born without a thyroid so has to medicate daily.

Natasha mainly rides without stirrups. “I don’t have any sensation in my legs so my brain

can’t tell my legs to keep my heels down. I had a nasty accident and got dragged by the stirrup so I took them away for safety.”

However, Natasha has never been one to dwell on what she can’t do. “My mum and dad brought me up with a positive mental attitude,” she says. “Life’s too short to be sad or grumpy. Pick up on the positives even in a bad situation.”

Her family has always provided a strong support system. Mum Lorraine is groom and attends all international shows. Dad Phil is always on hand for help and driving duties. The yard is run by Shelby and there is a wider network of farriers, physios and nutritionists, (human and equine). Her trainers are Lisa Hopkins and Claire Gallimore who help keep her current horse Keystone Dawn Chorus (Lottie) fit and finely tuned.

“Everything you do to improve counts, even if it’s just marginal gains,” says Natasha. She and Lorraine sit down at the beginning of the week and plan her schedule – Natasha has personal appearances, commentating and charity events to fit in around training, competing and having personal time.

Natasha and husband Marc Jaconelli have been together for seven years. He has a car detailing business with his team of contractors cleaning thousands of cars a year. As Natasha says he’s a perfectionist, it’s no surprise he gets roped in for cleaning the horsebox too! F

LEFT: ULTRASOUND SCANS HELP DIAGNOSE SOFT TISSUES INJURIES. BELOW: DETAILED INVESTIGATIONS ARE BEST CARRIED OUT AT THE VET’S PREMISES WHERE CONSISTENT CONDITIONS CAN BE APPLIED, AND THE HORSE HANDLED BY A NURSE ACCUSTOMED TO PRESENTING ANIMALS FOR ASSESSMENT.

ABOVE: NATASHA WAS UNITED WITH HER LATEST PARTNER KEYSTONE DAWN CHORUS (LOTTIE) AFTER A FACEBOOK QUEST. BELOW: NATASHA PRAISES LOTTIE FOR HER ‘AMAZING TEMPERAMENT’, EXPLAINING THAT PARA HORSES NEED TO BE FORWARD BUT NOT NAUGHTY.

RIGHT: NERVE BLOCKS CAN BE USED ALONGSIDE MORE VISIBLE SIGNS SUCH AS A SWOLLEN JOINT TO ESTABLISH THE SITE OF THE PROBLEM.

“I STARTED HAVING LITTLE RIDES IN A BASKET SADDLE BEFORE I COULD WALK”

They are very sociable and Natasha loves to hold dinner parties to catch up with all the friends she’s made from different walks of life.

Horses have always been a strong feature of the Bakers’ family life. She is the fourth generation to be based on the family livery yard, just outside Uxbridge in Middlesex, and now lives nearby. It’s an unostentatious place, with whitewashed stables, surrounded by lush paddocks. Yet the tack room boasts mementoes of London, Rio and Tokyo.

Mum Lorraine had horses, and showed at HOYS, and one of her grand-dads was a carriage driver. Natasha says: “I started having little rides in a basket saddle before I could walk and then begged my parents for a pony of my own. I had to wait months until they were sure I was serious about riding.”

Natasha was enrolled in the South Bucks RDA at Fulmer. “I started out on the smaller ponies and after 18 months graduated to Forester, a cheeky New Forest pony. He taught me how to get a horse into an outline. He also bucked me off a lot but my parents just dusted me off and put me back on!”

Natasha was spotted by BD’s Jane Goldsmith when she was 11 and entered into the pilot year of the World Class programme. “This gave me access to top trainers and intensive training and helped me develop so much. It was a stepping stone which has shaped my life.”

From that early start, Natasha has remained on the British squad for 21 years – a great achievement. F

LEFT: WINNING THE GRADE III TEAM TEST AT HARTPURY CPEDI3* AHEAD OF SELECTION FOR THE FEI WORLD PARA DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS. INSET: LOTTIE ENJOYS HACKING. BOTTOM LEFT: POLEWORK IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE TRAINING REGIME. BELOW: ALL HANDS ON DECK AT HARTPURY.

Her first really competitive horse was Wald Minor (Woody) who had been competed at Intermediate I by Ulrik Molgaard. Her most successful horse (so far) has been Cabral who was her mount from 2009 to 2016.

Natasha has been lucky to have the support of dressage judge Christian Landolt, the original owner of her first gold medalist, Cabral. When she first saw the then eight-year-old, Christian had promised him to another rider. She and Christian kept in touch and he offered her the ride. The rest is, as they say, history.

“Cabral was naturally forward and wanted to work with me. Para riders need horses to be forward going but not naughty – all my horses have been like this. I can’t motivate the horse with my legs so they have to go for themselves.”

Natasha’s latest partner is the beautiful Dimaggio mare, Keystone Dawn Chorus (Lottie), bred in Britain by Suzanne Lavandera in 2011. In 2019, Natasha had put out on Facebook that she was looking for a new horse and Beth Bainbridge responded about

ABOVE: LOTTIE ENJOYING SOME DOWNTIME WITH COMPANION PICKLES. INSET: AFTER CONTRACTING TRANSVERSE MYELITIS,

NATASHA CAN ONLY WALK SHORT DISTANCES ON CRUTCHES,

SO HER MOBILITY SCOOTER IS PART OF THE YARD ROUTINE.

BELOW: MUM LORRAINE, HERSELF A SUCCESSFUL SHOWING

RIDER, HELPS NATASHA WITH STRETCHING BEFORE A

SCHOOLING SESSION.

Lottie who she had bought as a young horse and produced. “When I went to try her Storm Gareth was raging, the wind was roaring and the rain was horizontal – Lottie didn’t put a foot wrong.

“She’s got an amazing temperament and we clicked straightaway. You would never know when she’s in season. She’s always the same. She goes out in the field and hacks on the roads,” explains Natasha. Lottie was purchased by the Bakers with the Orlando when she was nine by the charity Dreamflights and has subsequently worked with them to provide the same opportunity for other children. She is also a strong supporter of We The 15 which is a global sports human rights movement to make people with disabilities more visible.

“Every time I leave home I face some kind of ‘able-ism’. As soon as people see a wheelchair, you become invisible. People lean over you, invade your personal space. It’s important to show people that everyone has strengths as well as weaknesses.”

So what does the future hold for our Paralympic champion?

GIVING BACK AND HELPING OTHER PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF NATASHA’S LIFE

help of Christian Landolt and Joanna Jensen of Childs Farm. “I’m so grateful to them all for making this possible for me.” Giving back and helping other people with disabilities is an important part of Natasha’s life. She was taken on a trip to She and Marc would love to start a family but there is the little matter of the Paris Paralympics looming with Lottie still in her prime. Whatever happens, there’s no doubt that Natasha will take it in her stride and enjoy every step of the journey. T