WAIS equestrian athlete and London Olympic hopeful Clayton Fredericks has capped an incredible come-back from a recent injury scare to claim both gold and silver medals at the CCI *** Renswoude, tournament in the Netherlands.
Fredericks was injured via friendly fire in May, after taking a fall off his mount “Be My Guest” during competition in France, before the horse adding injury to insult, accidently trod on his stomach.
Fredericks required hospitalisation, which threatened to curb his Olympic ambitions, having four years earlier in Beijing, helped Australia to a silver Olympic medal along with fellow WAIS athletes Lucinda Fredericks -his wife -and Albany based rider Sonja Johnson.
The London Olympics hold special appeal for Fredericks, with the proud Australian currently residing in the UK, where he and wife Lucinda run a horse stable.
Fredericks whilst consigned to bed in hospital, consulted with WAIS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carmel Goodman, who liaised with the French medical and hospital staff, to ensure Clayton received the best care, but also to ensured he avoided surgery, a move that would have almost certainly curtailed his prospects of selection for London.
Following a remarkable recovery, Fredericks was able to take to competition in the Netherlands at the CCI *** Renswoude where he underlined his world class talent, taking mounts “Bendigo” and “Walterstown Don” to gold and silver medals respectively.
With the Australian Equestrian team for London, set to be announced this month, Fredericks has fired selectors a timely reminder of his pedigree.
Having already qualified five Olympic eligible horses for competition, the name Clayton Fredericks is likely to be on TV screens across the globe come the start of the Olympic Equestrian Program on day one (July 28), at London’s Greenwich Park, home of Greenwich Mean Time.
