Sabine Schut-Kery
SABINE SCHUT-KERY’S story of how she came to land Olympic dressage silver in Tokyo is remarkable. As a 52-year-old debutante, she came into the Games as the lowest scorer on the US team. Yet she outperformed all expectations, producing personal bests left, right and centre on the delightful San Remo stallion Sanceo.
Sabine was a relative unknown to European audiences, despite being born in Germany. She isn’t from horsey heritage, nor did she have much interest in dressage for many years. Her background was predominantly in exhibition riding – on Friesians and Spanish PRE horses. She performed on the biggest of stages – at Aachen and Madison Square Gardens. In one travelling show, she was a side-saddle princess.
Yet it was standing on an Olympic podium that left her so overwhelmed she was barely able to speak in the post-match interviews in Tokyo, such was her consternation. She’s been reflecting on the immensity of her achievements, letting the gravitas percolate now she’s home in
