Borders showjumper Scott ​Brash happy with team gold medal at Paris Olympics despite missing out on individual honour

The Peebles 38-year-old and Great Britain team-mates Ben Maher and Harry Charles landed a joint winners’ medal in the equestrian team jumping final at Versailles, near Paris, last Friday after starting competing the day before.

Brash’s round, on his 15-year-old horse Hello Jefferson, was the last of the three and he went into it knowing that if he went clear and picked up no more than two time penalties, he’d win his second Olympic gold medal, after one for the same event in London in 2012, and that’s exactly what he did despite twice making contact with hurdle bars but, happily, not knocking them down.

“Jefferson is a bit tense and sharp, and with the French being before us, I was quite aware there would be a lot of banging of feet and clapping of hands, so I tried to stay back to give him every opportunity to stay settled, relaxed and focused – and it worked,” said the Borderer, based in West Sussex these days, afterwards.

“He was absolutely incredible and jumped his heart out.

“I think you have to stay focused on your horse in that scenario.

“The lads had put me in an unbelievable position and thankfully it all paid off.

“It’s right up there. Jefferson was amazing. He coped unbelievably with the atmosphere and stayed relaxed and cool and focused on his job. It’s amazing.”

Brash was also accompanied by Londoner Maher, 41, for his gold medal win on Hello Sanctos at Greenwich 12 years ago, along with Nick Skelton and Peter Charles, father of current team-mate Harry, making the Charleses the first father-son pairing to go for gold for Britain at the Olympics since 1948.

“Me and Ben feel a bit like the old veterans,” said former Peebles High School pupil Brash, made a Member of the British Empire in 2013 for services to equestrianism.

“Harry is only 25 but he’s very experienced already.

“It’s amazing to have good riders coming up in our country and I think the future looks bright.”

This year’s Olympics are Brash’s third, having ended up eighth in the individual event in Japan in 2021 after finishing fifth in that contest in London five years earlier, alongside picking up a team gold.

He was one of four representatives of the region at Paris 2024, together with Jedburgh swimmer Lucy Hope, Selkirk hockey veteran Sarah Robertson and Hawick rugby sevens star Lisa Thomson.

Brash was hoping to add an individual medal to his collection this week, going up against opposition including Maher and Charles but all three missed out, with the Borderer finishing sixth in Tuesday’s final.

“Obviously I’m a little bit disappointed because it’s been a lifelong goal to try to win an individual medal, but I’m absolutely delighted with Jefferson. He’s been amazing all week and again today,” said Brash afterwards.

“He made just one mistake. It’s one of those things as he was foot-perfect the rest of the course.

“When you reflect on the week we’ve had, it’s been incredible.

“We have an amazing team and I thought we really worked well together all week.

“We need to enjoy these moments because you don't get too many of them.

“It’s so hard with an animal – it’s a really different sport. I love watching all the other sports – it’s incredible – but I do feel our sport is unique.

“It’s an amazing sport to be part of. You’ve got a 64-year-old jumping against a 20-year-old, women and men compete on the same basis and can equally win a gold medal, so it’s unique in that sense and with animals, anything can happen.”

Thomson, Robertson and Hope all missed out on medals in France.

Great Britain’s women’s rugby sevens team, featuring Thomson, 26, placed seventh on Tuesday last week; the British women’s field hockey team including Robertson, 30, ended up eighth after losing their quarter-final against the Netherlands on Monday by 3-1, though she did pass the 100-cap mark on her way there; and the women’s freestyle relay teams Hope, 27, was part of placed fifth over 200m last Thursday and seventh over 200m the preceding Saturday.