Melissa thankful for 'overwhelming support'

Marlborough dressage ace Melissa Galloway says the abiding memory of her Paris Olympic experience will be the “overwhelming support” that came her way.

Melissa and her beloved horse ‘Joey’ represented New Zealand with grace and style in their Grand Prix test at the stunning Palace of Versailles venue on Thursday morning (NZT).

At their first Olympics, Melissa and Joey turned in a very creditable test, finishing with a 68.913 percentage mark from the seven judges, the highest score ever recorded by a Kiwi rider at the Games.

She said “the whole experience, the atmosphere, everything, it was more than I expected, more amazing than I thought it would be. It takes your breath away.”

However, it was the support that really took her by surprise.

“The overwhelming support … in the lead up, during and afterwards, has been so much more than I even thought it would be. I think that's been probably the biggest surprise – the support of everyone.

“I had so many messages of good luck and everyone wishing us well and hoping that it would go really well. Just telling us to just enjoy it, that we deserved it, and people were saying, ‘we are so proud we don’t care if you get zero percent’,” she added with a chuckle.

Despite competing as an individual, Melissa had her family “team” nearby. Right on the edge of the arena, in what is affectionately termed the ‘kiss and cry’ area, were her parents, husband and sister, all given unlimited access and close at hand to watch her and Joey perform.

“That was so special,” she said.

“And I had my older brother and his wife, and my auntie. I had cousins, family friends, a lot of equestrian people back from New Zealand that came over, some from Marlborough. I had high school friends here. A girl that I worked with in Germany 12 years ago, as soon as she saw I was coming, she booked tickets two hours later, she's like, I'm not gonna miss this.

“It was crazy, so many people wanted to be there for that moment … it is so humbling and special.”

Leading up to her turn in the arena Melissa said she felt “surprisingly calm”.

“I did think that I would be quite nervous, but I just kept telling myself just enjoy it, don’t feel pressure … so I really tried to think about that.

“I watched the first group go and had watched most of the day before as well so it was quite cool watching how everyone was doing it, how the arena was kind of working with the horses and the crowd and everything. And then I thought, you know what? I’m just going to enjoy it - and that is exactly what we did.

“When I first came in [to the arena] and the crowd started cheering I could feel Joey just, like, lifted and I thought, ‘this is the coolest thing ever’. Then I quickly thought ‘alright focus’. The rest of the test was a bit of a blur but I felt he was so with me and we did what we always do, and he felt in a really good space. I think it wasn't until the final centre line where I thought wow, we just did it, we're doing it, and it's gone actually pretty well.”

The aftermath proved an emotional time.

“You immediately get whisked away to the media and there were questions about how it was with Joey and as soon as people asked me that I started breaking down in tears because it is so special. The partnership we have is very unique, in this sport and high performance in general, especially in Europe there are not many people that have had their horse for the entire time, so it’s very, very special.”

Although their score was not high enough to qualify as one of the top 18 combinations that progressed to the Grand Prix Freestyle test, the medal round, their performance was of true international quality.

Melissa rued a small mistake during their test, a mis-step at the start of the flying changes, that cost her a higher percentage mark, but will leave France with no regrets.

“That would be the only thing that I would have said, had I not done that, it would be great. But again, it's nothing major, and it certainly has not dampened my experience at all.”

Part of that experience was a four-hour boat trip during the spectacular Opening Ceremony, where Melissa got to rub shoulders with the Kiwi female tennis players and the Black Ferns sevens side.

“The rugby girls are just so down to earth … and straightaway they were just like your best friend. That was definitely a highlight.”

So, what does the future hold for the dancing duo from Tuamarina?

Firstly, it is a return to the Van Olst Stables in the Netherlands where Joey will go into a month-long quarantine.

In the meantime, Melissa will head back to NZ, with a well-deserved holiday along the way.

As to future dressage plans, she admits her thoughts quickly turned to LA and the 2028 Games.

“This has definitely whetted my appetite for more. I think my family might have been hoping, like, ‘yep, that's enough’. But I came out and one of the first things I said was ‘oh, what about LA? How can I get there’?

“I guess I might have caught the Olympic bug,” added the young woman who, at 11-years-of-age, wrote on her Tuamarina Primary School wall that her dream was to ride dressage at the Olympics and has shown the equestrian world that, with hard work and belief, dreams really can come true.