Multiple para dressage gold medallist Natasha Baker has ridden for the first time since giving birth to her second son last year. She began on a mechanical horse at the South Bucks Riding for the Disabled Association. Baker is considering her future in the sport amid family changes.
Natasha Baker, a multiple gold medallist in para dressage, has returned to riding after a 16-month hiatus following the birth of her second son, Oliver, in June 2025. Baker and her husband, Marc Jaconelli, welcomed Oliver as a brother to their then two-year-old son, Joshua. This return comes less than a year after she secured bronze at the Paris Paralympics with her horse Keystone Dawn Chorus, known as Lottie, who has since been sold to Irish rider Katie Reilly.
Baker visited the South Bucks Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) branch, where she began riding at age nine, for a session on the mechanical horse named “Mickey,” assisted by coach Lizzie Ragg. “Returning to riding has been very different after Oliver’s birth to how it was after my first pregnancy,” Baker said. “That time I had Lottie waiting at home and the Paris Paralympics on my radar. This time I don’t and I haven’t ridden since November 2024.”
She noted challenges ahead, including finding a new horse and adjusting family support, as her mother wishes to step back from grooming duties to focus on being a grandmother. “Riding and competing has been my entire life for 26 years – I don’t know what my life looks like without it,” Baker reflected. “I know coming back will be a challenge, juggling it with two small children, so I need to ask myself the difficult questions and try to work out how and if I can make it work. What I do know is I need to get back on a horse to help me figure it all out.”
Baker plans to continue riding Mickey this spring before transitioning to real horses as she decides her next steps. RDA chief executive Michael Bishop praised her return: “RDA is very proud of our long connection with Natasha and all the equestrian Paralympians who began their journey with us. Natasha is a shining example of this.” Agria UK chief executive Vicki Wentworth, whose company sponsors Baker, added: “At Agria we have watched Natasha’s career unfold with such admiration... Natasha will continue to be a huge asset to the horse world, whichever path she takes next.”
