Sakura – the laidback equine star who's taken Georgia Wilson from team reserve to medal podiums

Georgia Wilson and her British-bred mare Sakura (Supertramp x Rockstar) – or Suki, as she’s known at home – burst onto the scene at the Tokyo Paralympics, where they’d originally been selected as reserves.

However, the late, and heartbreaking, withdrawal of Sophie Christiansen and Innuendo III thrust the combination into the spotlight.

“I’m thrilled that Georgia will be taking my place,” Sophie said at the time.“For those of you who will miss seeing my smile, Georgia will similarly light up the arena in Tokyo! Becoming a Paralympian changed my life in a way that I hope Tokyo will do for her.”

And Georgia and Sakura certainly did light up the arena, belying their inexperience to win two grade II bronze medals.

Georgia Wilson and Sakura’s breakthrough

For Georgia, who was then just 25-years-old and grew up watching future teammates like Sophie Wells competing when she was still “tiny – on my little 14.2hh New Forest pony”, it was a watershed moment.

After scoring 76.75% to secure freestyle bonze, she reflected on what it meant to be competing alongside athletes she considered idols.

“To be here with them, I just can’t explain it,” she said, beaming, “I just want to do it again!”

Sophie Wells – who was coaching Georgia in Tokyo – recalled bursting into tears after the test.

“To have a horse right, to have the rider right, and to have it happen in the right place at the right time and do it in the arena in front of those judges, it doesn’t just happen like that and Georgia just bloody rode for every single mark,” she said.

At that point, Georgia and the then seven-year-old mare hadn’t even been a partnership for very long, and Sakura was one of the youngest horses at the competition.

“Suki came to me from the Eilbergs in 2020,” Georgia explained. “We tried her and said yes to her on the spot – she had such a nice big walk and really wanted to please.

“I liked her big nostrils as well. Michael [Eilberg’s] child was playing near the manège while his wife Maya was riding Suki as well, and she wasn’t at all bothered.

“She didn’t act like a seven-year-old, even though when we bought her she had only done one competition and only been in a horsebox once. We threw her in at the deep end and went off to qualify for the winter championships, but she wasn’t fazed by anything.”

Indeed, Sakura was actually Georgia’s second horse and it was her European gold medallist Midnight who’d been campaigned with Tokyo in mind. But after Midnight was ruled-out through injury, Sakura stepped up.

“I had a month of intense training with Sophie Wells before Tokyo, and in that month she changed so much.

“I had to work harder on my riding to catch up with her but I’ve had horses in the past who have been moody with the way my legs cling on when I ride, but Suki wasn’t bothered.

“She listens to me and was very good at learning voice commands.

“She took it all in her stride, and wasn’t bothered about anything. She’s very kind and always very relaxed, even on the plane she was busy eating and thinking about food.”

“She snores like an old grandad”

In fact, Sakura is almost as well-known for her love of food as her expressive paces.

“Suki’s two priorities in life are food and sleep,” explains Jade Lockwood, who was one of the travelling grooms in Tokyo.

“She was half asleep for the medal ceremonies in Tokyo as they were at about 11pm. I’ve also never known a horse to snore so loudly in my life. When she is fast asleep she snores like an old grandad – you can hear her from a stable block away!

“But she is very sweet and easy to look after, the textbook horse really. It was incredible to be on the kiss and cry stand in Tokyo, watching Georgia and Suki.

“They haven’t known each other long so we weren’t expecting anything, but they are perfectly matched. Before Georgia went in, I said, ‘Just enjoy yourself. Give you and the horse a good ride’. She did exactly that and it paid off.”

Since fortune – both bad and good – conspired to make Georgia and Sakura the breakout stars of the Tokyo Games, they’ve gone from strength-to-strength, establishing themselves as one of the leading combinations in para dressage.

In 2022, they travelled to the World Championships in Herning off the back of personal bests at Wellington and Hartpury CPEDI3*s that summer. Their hard work paid off as they returned with a bronze medal in the freestyle, riding to their emotive Love Me Like You Do routine.

Following their success in Herning, Georgia and Sakura have remained consistent, securing a podium finish in every international competition they’ve entered.

In 2023, they were selected to compete in the European Championship in Riesenbeck, where they added to their medal haul with a team bronze, an individual silver, and a freestyle silver.

Now, as they know prepare to ride down the centre line in Paris, their remarkable rise from unexpected reserves to consistent medal contenders serves as a testament to the magic that can happen when talent meets opportunity.

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