‘I was trying to hold back the tears’: Mari Durward-Akhurst makes her emotional Paralympics debut

Mari Durward-Akhurst and Athene Lindebjerg rounded out the first day of equestrian action at the Paris 2024 Paralympics scoring 71.79% to finish sixth in the grade I individual test.

Rihard Snikus and King Of The Dance won gold, scoring 79.17% – in what was Latvia’s first-ever equestrian gold at either a Paralympic or Olympic Games.

Roxanne Trunnell – who won individual gold at the Tokyo Games on her former ride Dolton – took silver on Fan Tastico H for the USA, scoring 78%. Italy’s Sara Morganti and Mariebelle won bronze on 74.63%.

Coming into the Games as world number one and riding Athene – a previous Paralympic gold medal winner in Rio with Sophie Christiansen – Mari understandably felt the pressure and expectation building behind her.

“It was a lot of pressure,” Mari agreed. “This morning was a nightmare, I was getting myself in a bit of a state, trying to find things to do to keep myself occupied.

“But once I got on her and she went into that arena I just knew she was going to look after me.”

Despite not winning a medal, there was no dampening Mari’s enthusiasm – and rightly so. This was her Paralympics debut, and it’s been years in the making. She’s overcome numerous setbacks along the way and works tremendously hard in the gym to make sure she’s fit to compete.

As she entered the arena you’d never know she’d been feeling the pressure. Her beaming smile never left her face as her coach Rob Waine and her mum Sue – who was calling the test for Mari – watched on.

It’s moments like this, which makes this sport so special, and a privilege to watch.

“She enjoyed it as much as I did – and that’s what it’s all about,” Mari said. “We couldn’t have done any more, everything went to plan so I was really pleased with it.

“I was trying to hold back the tears when I went into the arena, it was just incredible.

“Horses have always been in my life. I was three-year-old when I started riding, and then my condition deteriorated quite drastically in 2019 and I lost the ability to walk. So, being on the horse, it’s like they’re my legs, and I always say together we excel.

“But I also got bullied a lot as a young child because I was different to others but I wasn’t in a wheelchair so they couldn’t really see why, and horses were basically what kept me going.”

The grade I was the most competitive class of the day, with 22 combinations competing. Mari made it into the top eight so will move forward to the freestyle on Saturday (7 September).

“We’ve got new music that we’ve never ridden to in competition before, so it’ll be really special,” Mari added.

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