The 'true Lincolnshire lass' targeting Paris glory
A Lincolnshire equestrian has spoken of her pride after being chosen to represent her country at the Paris Olympics.
Ros Canter, 38, has been selected to compete in eventing for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The European and former world champion said winning an Olympic medal would be “the icing on the cake”.
“I grew up enjoying watching the Olympics and it’s very special to get there myself,” she added.
Canter was raised on her family’s farm at Hallington, near Louth, where she now runs a livery yard and trains for competition.
“The Lincolnshire Wolds are just unbelievable for getting horses fit for the cross-country," she said. "I’m a true Lincolnshire lass and I’ll be very proud to represent the county.”
Her mother Helen Canter, who helps look after the horses, said she was proud of her daughter's achievements.
“Ros has worked extremely hard, she’s very focussed," she added. "The level and the way she trains her horses, it’s a skill that only she has.”
Eventing includes three disciplines: dressage, cross-country and show-jumping. Last year, Canter became only the fifth rider to win three majors in a single season, including the Badminton Horse Trials.
In 2020, Canter and her horse Allstar B were selected as travelling reserves for the Tokyo games.
“I was required to be on my A-game, but to do that knowing that you probably weren’t going to be competing was quite hard,” she said.
In Paris, Ros will be competing on 12-year-old Lordships Graffalo, a horse she has trained since he was three.
“His strongest point is that he’s really fast on the cross-country. He’s also quite a character at home.," she said.
"We know each other inside out. It’s extremely special to be able to form a relationship with an animal like that.”
Big summer
Canter's five-year-old daughter, Ziggy, has been talking about the Olympics after learning about the games at school.
“I was trying to creep out to go to the gym at 5am when she woke up and said, ‘Why are you always leaving?’" Canter said.
"I sat her down and we had a chat about how mummy had an important summer coming up, and that hopefully she would enjoy watching it.”
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