Sarah Ayton makes racing comeback

Sarah Ayton (right) was one of the ‘Three Blondes in a Boat’, sailing their Yngling to two Olympic Gold Medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.

But with the 2012 London Games looming, Sarah took the decision to start a family, while her then husband, Nick Dempsey, went for a windsurfing Gold Medal. He didn’t get the Gold, and had to accept the Silver Medal instead.

The pair split and divorced soon after the 2012 Games. But it wasn’t long before Ms Ayton got back into some serious sailing as a tactician in the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series.

Then she won the Female Sailor of the year 2015. “It was a massive challenge going back into sailing after having both of my boys,” she explained.

And it wasn’t long before she would re-appear. But this time it wasn’t sailing a boat. It was riding a horse – something she had tried fleetingly at a young age.

This time it was different as Sarah was asked to take part in the Magnolia Cup at Glorious Goodwood this year…

Despite only taking up the sport in December, and “never really riding before”, she went for 13 hours of instruction at Amanda Perrett’s racing yard in Pulborough, and watched “a bit of a documentary”.

Then she was paired up with her horse, Archangel Raphael, at the racing yard. The first time she got on, Archangel was ‘out of control’.  But the former Olympic athlete managed to stop him dead, and they were declared “a suitable pairing”.

Sarah confesses she had one bad fall that resulted in whiplash, and then got kicked. But she says she’s in the best shape she’s been in since the Beijing Games, adding: “It all comes down to a 55-second ride after eight months of training. And it’s all about the start.”

Unfortunately, Sarah made a bad start – in a boat race she would have been sailing in the wrong direction… So she was unable to challenge for the lead in her first amateur race.

“I showed my lack of experience at the start,” she added. “I was too focused on what was going on around me and just missed the go – it felt like we were stood still for about 10 minutes when everyone else was off.”

“But I didn’t fall off ,” she added. “And I’d love to come back next year.” She promised she would keep riding and “maybe go for my amateur license.”