Event: Individual dressage.
Who is she? Ireland’s only dressage competitor in Rio, she’ll be riding Vancouver K. Reynolds has had a very impressive last 18 months, going from 144th in the world rankings in January 2015 to 25th at the time of writing.
Where’s she from? Kilteel in Kildare, although she can be found in Germany these days.
Olympic CV: Reynolds will be making her debut at an Olympics this year but she has competed in three World Equestrian Games, three World Dressage Championships, as well as the 2016 Dressage World Cup, where she finished in a very encouraging eighth place.
Road to Rio: Owing to her Olympic ranking, Reynolds secured an individual dressage spot for Ireland in Rio back in March.
When does she start? She’ll get her first taste of the Olympics at Rio’s Equestrian Centre on Sunday, 7 August.
Where can I follow her? She’s active on Twitter and Instagram as @JudyReynoldsIRL.
What she says: “It has always been a childhood dream when you’re involved with horses and you wanted to ride. It was always the ultimate goal to ride at the Olympics.” (The42, March 2016)
Medal chances? It’ll be a tall order for Reynolds to push for a place on the podium, but considering the level of progress she has made over the last year or so, perhaps she and Vancouver K will fancy their chances.
Three out of five on our scientifically-developed, patented Jerry Kiernan scale…
And here’s something you probably didn’t know… Reynolds competed in the World Equestrian Games in 2006, just three weeks after undergoing an emergency appendix operation.
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