Paralympic equestrian riders praise access for disabled riders at Versailles

VERSAILLES, France (AP) — After winning her 10th Paralympics medal, British equestrian Natasha Baker celebrated with her son on Saturday and reflected on how good accessibility for disabled people was at the Palace of Versailles.

“We could do with some more baby changers, there’s only one on site," the 34-year-old Baker said, laughing as Joshua, 17 months old, sat on her lap waving a British flag. "But apart from that it’s been amazing. There are ramps everywhere. Everywhere is so easy to get to (and) so easy to get around. The stables are amazing.”

Baker was one of many riders using a wheelchair or a scooter to get around the vast grounds of Versailles, once the home of French royalty and where Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette held lavish banquets.

Olympic organizers enlisted the help of former Paralympics dressage rider Stinna Tange Kaastrup to ensure Versailles had a high standard of disabled access during the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

“(So) that they have equal opportunities here and are able to go to the same places as people without disabilities,” Kaastrup said in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday.

She knew the size of the task when she first came to Versailles in May.

“It’s such a big venue and it’s a historical site. That was a challenge, to work with the landscape here and still make it as perfect as possible for people with wheelchairs," said Kaastrup, who previously competed for Denmark. “It took a whole day, there’s so much to cover.”

Some fine-tuning was quickly required.

“They put so many disabled toilets around the venue. Wonderful, that's something I've not seen often. But the ones they had delivered were not fully accessible," said Kaastrup, who explained the problem she faced using them. "These things show it's really important to have a person with a disability to come down and test everything to see how it runs. Luckily we caught that one.”

Kaastrup was born without legs and won two bronze medals in dressage at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. She won individual dressage gold at the world championships two years later in Grade II. Riders compete in five grades, with Grade I for the most severely impaired.

One of Kaastrup's roles was advising volunteers how to treat disabled people.

“Don't be awkward. Just treat us like people,” she explained. "But if you see somebody stuck in a wheelchair you also ask them if they need help.”

In April last year, equestrian world body the FEI launched a guide to help event organizers improve accessibility for athletes, staff and spectators with disabilities. The FEI reviewed its internal practices “to see where we can eliminate barriers to entry for people with disabilities and how we can provide a more inclusive physical and organisational environment.”

For example, cable bridges can sometimes be too high for a wheelchair and ramps might not be long enough. The guidebook encompassed parking, signage, spectator seating areas, food services and vehicles.

Fiona Howard, who won three medals for the United States in her first Paralympics, appreciated the help on site.

“In any area that we were like, ‘Oh, it’s hard to get the wheelchairs over,’ they made sure we had a way to get there," she said. "They really thought everything out. My wheelchair got stuck in the sand the other day and there were like 20 people ready to help. Everything's been really great.”

British rider Georgia Wilson, who took silver in Grade II, agreed.

“The set-up is just incredible," Wilson said. "They’ve done a really good job with the riders. Good for the scooters and getting around.”

American Rebecca Hart completed her fifth Games and signed off with another gold medal, beating Dutchwoman Rixt van der Horst and Baker in Grade III.

“We've had great success here and all the volunteers have been so helpful,” the 39-year-old Hart said, praising the reliability of shuttle services.

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AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press