‘I was expecting some massive scores – I didn’t think I’d be one of them’: Brit Jemima Green’s shock freestyle silver
A personal best by over two points, a result she never saw coming and a week she admits has been mentally one of the hardest of her career – how Jemima Green sealed freestyle silver in Aachen
Fiona Howard and Diamond Dunes (USA) topped the grade II freestyle on 81.87% on the last day of the World Para Dressage Championships in Aachen, but it was Britain’s Jemima Green who produced the story of the class – a huge personal best on Fantabulous, taking silver on 80.93% (up from 78.44%) off the back of a fourth-place finish in the team test two days earlier. Jemima later said she’d gone into the freestyle with no expectation of making the podium.
Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing completed the top three on Poesie 143 with 80.81%, the narrowest of margins – just 0.126 points – separating silver from bronze.
Jemima could barely process the result when it came in. “I just found out it’s a huge PB, which is so, so exciting,” she said, still looking a bit shocked.
“There were mistakes – I was going around thinking, ‘Come on, a little bit more’. He felt a little tired, but relaxed, which meant we didn’t get the spooks, but we did have a trip, and just a couple of transitions where he was a little behind me.
“I came out of the test not really knowing what to expect, so when they said, ‘I think you’ve got silver’ I was like, ‘Pardon?’ I just remember it feeling slightly off – but that clearly doesn’t mean anything, it’s so hard to get that into your brain.”
Picking through the test for its highlights, she singled out the free walk in particular. “It's all a bit of a blur though. My first medium trot wasn’t strong, so I immediately thought, ‘Right, I’ve got to make the next one better’ – and that one was.
“The free walk across the long diagonal – he really let go and stretched for me and he goes so well to our Beatles music with that, which is lovely. When he keeps his rhythm and his balance throughout, it really flows, and it feels soft. He looked relaxed today, but I got a bit more oomph out of him too.”
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The result, she explained, was built on a small but significant change made the day before. “We had a slightly longer warm-up – four minutes longer – we’re very precise with him, and we made a saddle adjustment too. Yesterday, I’d felt the left-hand side [of the saddle] had dropped, so we put a shim in to balance it up.
“He’s really sensitive to those tiny adjustments; he won’t hold himself square if the saddle’s not quite right. I think those little tweaks, and the conversations we’ve had as a team, have brought this here today.”
She was quick to credit the wider team behind it. “Without any of them here, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. British Dressage and Agria are supporting us, and we couldn’t be here without UK Sport's full support either.
“There’s no way I could have done this without all the coaches, the trainers, the farriers – everybody. It really is a full team effort, and I so appreciate it, because it's made the difference on him from two days ago to today.”
Reflecting on the week as a whole as she goes home with two medals having also taken bronze in the individual on Wednesday, Jemima admitted it had taken its toll. “Overwhelming and exhausting – I’m not going to lie, I think mentally this has been one of the hardest shows for me. I don’t think I felt the pressure physically, but mentally I did.
“I came in today really prepared – I’ve been watching my music videos and visualising, because I haven’t always had the best luck with music, but it’s got stronger and stronger. I went to bed early last night and really thought about how I wanted to perform. It’s been an incredible experience – but exhausting.”
The grade II field was one of the strongest of the week, and Jemima admitted she hadn’t expected to be anywhere near the podium in it – despite already having an individual bronze to her name.
“It was a really strong field, some big names, so I thought, ‘I’ll probably be fourth again,’” she said. “I would’ve taken that; that’s my comfortable spot! I was expecting some massive scores – I didn’t think I’d necessarily be one of them, so this is truly incredible.”
Elsewhere on the final day, Rixt van der Horst of the Netherlands continued her imperious week, topping the grade III freestyle on Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP with 83.12%. Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Joergensen took silver on Blue Hors Zackorado (79.94%), with Italy’s Francesca Salvadè completing the podium on Escari (79.59%) – the narrowest of margins, just 0.353 points, separating silver from bronze.
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Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).