‘Finding something normal again’: Laura Scott on returning to the saddle and rising through the para dressage ranks

Laura Scott has been one of the standout para dressage riders this season, building momentum eight years on from a life-changing accident which left her with a broken neck and spinal damage at C4/5.

A former point-to-point rider, Laura’s world changed in an instant.

“I couldn’t feel or move anything from my neck down,” she recalls. Two months lying flat in the hospital followed, before an intense period of rehabilitation. “After a lot of physio, I walked out of the hospital, which felt huge.”

Her recovery continued at Oaksey House with the Injured Jockeys Fund – support she still draws on today. But it was four weeks after leaving the hospital that Laura made a decision that would shape what followed.

“I was struggling mentally with everything that came with the injury,” she says. “I knew I had to get back on a horse — even though I didn’t know how I was going to get on or off.”

With a trusted horse and a stack of straw bales, she climbed back into the saddle. “It was such a relief,” she says. “I knew I’d found something ‘normal’ again.”

That moment marked the beginning of a new chapter — one that has gathered momentum in 2025.

A big year for Laura Scott

Laura won at her first regionals in the elementary silver at Bicton, claimed the 2025 grade IV national title at Somerford Park, and swept three classes at her first CPEDI3* with CEI Summer Days (Summertime Blues x LDB Hotline).

“I was a bit worried I was chucking him in at the deep end by doing a three-star at his first international,” she admits. “But he was fantastic.”

Her success has been underpinned by consistent training with Nina Venables and Pammy Hutton.

“Their help and guidance have been instrumental,” Laura says. It was Pammy who first suggested para dressage and encouraged her to get classified — a pathway Laura knew little about at the time.

“I didn’t know anything about para dressage, so I’ve had to learn a lot,” she says. “But it’s been a great experience. It’s a wonderful community, and while it’s very different to pointing, it still gives me a goal — and I get my competition fix.”

Alongside her competitive career, Laura continues to work as head girl for her father, trainer Jeremy Scott, juggling racehorses and dressage with characteristic practicality. “It keeps me very busy,” she says, “but it works well.”

Laura bought Summer Days through Antonia Brown, and the connection was instant. “As soon as I saw him, I knew he was the one,” Laura says. “He’s talented, with the most fantastic temperament.”

Their journey together has moved quickly, from prelim tests to national and international success. “I feel incredibly lucky to be riding him,” she adds. “I’ve only scratched the surface so far.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Laura is measured but optimistic. Her focus is on continuing to develop CEI Summer Days, while also aiming to compete him at medium level able-bodied dressage.

She has also just backed a homebred four-year-old and is relishing the process of producing another horse from the start.

Being selected onto the World Class Programme has added further belief.

“With that support,” she says, “it feels like everything is coming together.”

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