Gerry has sights on toppling the Brits

“I’m excited but nervous as well. I can’t wait to do it,” says Gerry, a para-dressage rider, who will compete for the Irish team.

It is the first time that Ireland has qualified a team for the Paralympics and Gerry, born in Dublin, is delighted to have been selected for the squad. She lives near Holme on Spalding Moor in East Yorkshire and, as well as travelling to Ireland for training sessions with the team, she has also been competing regularly in Europe.

Gerry and the rest of the Irish squad competed at the Hartpury CPEDI three-star event in Gloucestershire where they were placed second to Great Britain.

“They are good but if we can manage to stay up there with them... Our aim is to finish in the top 10 at the Paralympics,” said Gerry.

She suffers from a neurological disorder that affects her balance and co-ordination and walking. She needs help to get on and off her horse and to get around generally, she uses crutches and a wheelchair.

“I get severe fatigue, too, and it is hard sometimes to keep going,” said Gerry. “But it was fantastic to get selected. I need to set myself goals and that helps.”

She is already looking forward to next year when she is aiming to ride at the European Championships and at the World Equestrian Games.

Gerry will be riding her grey mare, Blue, at the Paralympics but is also on the look out for another horse with the World Equestrian Games in mind.

She plans to spend the next few weeks at home doing some local competitions and training with her instructor, Sue Joy, before going to Ireland on August 19 for the holding camp and then on to London on August 25.

One pressing problem that she and her husband, Mark, need to solve in the meantime is that Gerry’s old horse box, which has transported her all over Europe, is not allowed into the London Emissions Zone unless they pay a fee. Money is tight and Gerry would be very grateful for the loan of a decent size horse box which meets the criteria of the zone for the period of the Games.

When she stops to think about riding at the Paralympics, Gerry says it feels very daunting. “It doesn’t really feel real sometimes when I think about it. I hope it all goes as it should do. The team are all in good spirits.”

The Paralympic Games run from August 29 to September 9. Gerry Savage can be contacted on 07930 500468.

Britain’s Paralympics riders squad has been announced.

Lee Pearson will be making his fourth Paralympics appearance along with Deborah Criddle. Joining them is Sophie Christiansen, for whom London will be her third Games, while Sophie Wells and Natasha Baker join the team for the first time.

The riders have an impressive record to keep up to – the British team has won gold at every Paralympic Games since the sport was introduced at Atlanta in 1996.

Following Beijing, the team has continued its medal-winning form. In 2010, the British Equestrian squad won 13 medals at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, including team and six individual golds. Three of the selected riders – Criddle, Baker and Wells – competed in the all-female equestrian team at the 2011 European Championships which brought home eight gold medals and a silver.

Natasha Baker, who became European individual and freestyle grade two champion on her senior team debut, said: “It’s a dream come true. I’ve dreamt about it since Sydney in 2000 and after 12 years of hard work, it’s finally paid off.”