On Thursday, top-ranked FEI U25 rider Harry Charles kicked off his Paris Olympic campaign with a solid round in the Team Qualifier.
Charles had just one down aboard Romeo 88, helping to secure a place for Great Britain in tomorrow’s Team Final. And while Charles—already appearing in his second Games at the tender age of 25—has gained a reputation for his ability to perform under pressure, rarely have the stakes been this high.
Just four weeks ago, the British rider suffered a break to his right radius and wrist in a fall during the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia at CHIO Aachen when his stallion, Bandit, pulled a shoe and stumbled coming out of a combination.
“I heard a [crack],” said Charles, adding that he knew right away the injury was serious.
“I was sat in the medical room, and [my arm] just went up to there, [it was massively] swollen. I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ And so, I asked [the doctor] straight away—’I have to ride the Olympics.’
The doctor told Charles that breaks typically need to be in a cast for six weeks—advice that was, unsurprisingly, incompatible with his training timeline. He quickly opted to leave the hospital in Germany and find another one better suited to his needs back in England.
“We got fantastic care, had fantastic physios, and a great team,” Charles explained of his U.K. treatment. “My dad [Olympic gold medalist Peter Charles] did a great job with Romeo. He was able to school him for me at home and ride him.
“I’m thankful to have someone with that experience and who knows him that well. I wouldn’t have been able to [do this] without that.”
According to Charles, who’d been named to the British team just days before his fall, his ability to compete in Paris was still very much up in the air the first week after his injury. He kept up the façade, however, reassuring everyone who asked that he was fine.
“I was like, if I’m going to go, I need to start training soon, because [I need to go in] at 100%.”
Against doctor’s orders, Charles got back on a horse one week later with his cast on, later removing it in favor of the brace that he’s currently wearing.
“I knew kind of straight when I got back on the horse a few weeks ago, like, ‘Okay, this is going to be fine. I’ll make it work.’”
Charles continued his preparations, even jumping a double-clear 1.50m round at Hickstead aboard Casquo Blue; his arm’s first—and last—big test ahead of Paris.
“I got back on Romeo 10 days ago and felt great. It worked well, and I was in no pain. I’d say it’s nearly fully healed. I don’t know if the doctor would agree with me,” joked Charles. “But it feels pretty good.”
Charles and Romeo 88 will be back in action tomorrow for the Team Final, airing at 8 a.m. ET. Currently in third place behind Germany and the U.S., Great Britain will have the luxury of jumping toward the back of the order, where they’ll look to improve upon their 10th-place finish in Tokyo. All teams will start on a zero score.