Ricky Balshaw, (born 10 November 1986) is a British
para equestrian
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events: One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dres ...
rider who represented Britain in the Beijing 2008
Paralympics, winning the silver medal with Deacons Georgi (now semi-retired). He also holds two world-championships and one European award.
Biography
Balshaw was born with
cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
which has restricted the muscle movement in both his legs and hands. He also has very little natural balance. With what he does have, he has been taught through
physiotherapy
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
to walk with the aid of two sticks.
When he was 4 years old, his physiotherapist recommended that he took up horse riding as a part of the physiotherapy. Balshaw, confused by what he had just heard decided to try it. He started riding at Brockton Court
Riding for the Disabled Association
The Riding for the Disabled Association, also known as the RDA is a United Kingdom based charity founded in 1969 focused on providing therapeutic horse-riding, equestrian vaulting and carriage driving lessons to people with developmental and phys ...
Group.
At the age of 10, Balshaw was the seventh person in Europe to be selected for a state-of-the-art operation on his
spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spi ...
. The procedure involved opening his back up and then artificially stimulating each nerve ending to see which made the worst results on his muscles and, in theory, to see which muscles were working against him. Once identified, they were to cut the nerve effectively killing to muscles. Although it was a relatively new surgery, it was a success, though Balshaw had to learn to walk and ride again.
Balshaw made his debut in 2002 and in the following year he was a member of the British team.
When Balshaw turned 14 he was put on the World Class programme and was sent all over the world competing and training to gain experience. In 2003, he was named as first reserve for the World Championships. He was under a great deal of stress at that point, not only finding out that he was to replace a very close friend who could attend because of health reasons, but being given less than three weeks to prepare. Balshaw describes that moment as one of the most bittersweet moments, he has experienced. He was in the Grade ii category, his first big opportunity, and narrowly missed a bronze medal.
The grade boundaries were changed and Balshaw became a Grade 1b rider. With this new grade, Balshaw was given his second opportunity at the World Championships in 2007. Riding Julia Lazzari’s horse, Deacons Giorgi, who was kindly loaned to Balshaw exceeded all expectation and gained a bronze medal. In 2008, the Balshaw was part of the British Para Dressage team at the
Beijing Paralympics. Excited by what he described as "one of the best experiences of his life" Balshaw and Deacons Giorgi (retired) returned to the UK with a Silver medal, coming second to
Lee Pearson another British
Paralympics team member.
Shortly after returning from Beijing, Balshaw put Giorgi into semi-retirement and started training a new horse named "Bungle". During one of his training sessions Balshaw fell from the horse, and with his foot stuck in the stirrup, he was dragged by his horse resulting in a few broken ribs as well as smashing his knee, which required an operation. The horse was an ex-show jumping horse and threw Balshaw again, cracking his skull. After he recovered, he gave up Bungle and took on a new horse, "Academy Award". He made the WEG
FEI World Equestrian Games
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive S ...
selection in 2010, and yet again was ranked Silver.
towards the end of 2011, Balshaw was thrown from his horse and broke his back. Not realising at the time, he tried to get up and remount his horse before he knew that something was seriously wrong. He telephoned an ambulance and when the crew arrived at the yard, they were astonished that he had moved. Doctors told Balshaw that it would be at least eight to nine months before he could ride again. Ignoring the advice he was back on his horse 12 weeks later. Balshaw returned to training but because of the broken back he was not selected for the
London Paralympics 2012 games.
He resumed training with his latest horse, LJT Engaarrds Solitaire (Sid for short). They won double silver at the FEI European Championships 2013 in
Herning
Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)[Pepo Puch
Josef "Pepo" Puch (born 10 January 1966 in Graz) is an Austrian-Croatian equestrian. He started in equestrian at fifteen.
Puch competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics for Croatia in the individual eventing with horse Banville D'Ivoy. He finished 6 ...]
.
Balshaw had intended to pursue qualification for the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil, but did not participate, deciding to retire from the sport after a series of further injuries. Balshaw, whose home is in
Telford, Shropshire
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...
, took up employment as a car salesman for Furrows of
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
.
Quotation
"He lends me his legs and we take on the world" - Ricky Balshaw
Awards and trophies
* World Championship 2007: freestyle Bronze
* Beijing Paralympics 2008: individual Silver
*
FEI World Equestrian Games
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive S ...
2010: individual Silver
* FEI European Championships 2013: individual and freestyle Silver
TV appearances
* ''Road to London 2012: That Paralympic Show''
* ''Best of British''
Best of British - episode guide
Channel 4
See also
* Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
* 2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...
* Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of eleven dressage events. The competitions were held in the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre from 7 September to 11 September.
Classification
Riders were given a classification depending ...
* Para-equestrian
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events: One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dres ...
References
External links
www.winkball.com/blogs/pLTeqsO_htUc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO3DM7YDrBc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVihkwWK3DI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balshaw, Ricky
Living people
Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain
Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic equestrians of Great Britain
British dressage riders
1986 births
People from Telford
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
British male equestrians
Paralympic medalists in equestrian