2022 Asian Games: Hong Kong veteran Nicole Pearson eyes sixth appearance with ‘best three horses I’ve ever had’
- The eventing specialist will be 55 when the Hangzhou Games comes along but is confident she has a great chance of winning a medal
- Pearson was part of the Hong Kong team that won a team bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon
Nicole Pearson was thinking about retiring after completing her fifth Asian Games in 2018. She finished 17th in the individual eventing in Palembang, Indonesia and helped Hong Kong to fifth in the team competition.
Having made her debut at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games as a 19 year old, Pearson could look back proudly at her Hong Kong career, capped by a team bronze at the 2014 Games in Incheon. She also missed a team medal at the 2010 Guangzhou event by 0.4 of a point.
In addition, Pearson played a role in grooming younger riders such as Thomas Heffernan Ho – who has qualified for next year’s Olympic Games – Su Yuxuan, Raena Leung and Chinese Olympian Alex Hua Tian. At 51 years old, age would have told her sternly it was time to pass the baton.
And Pearson was initially inclined to agree. However, events conspired to gift Pearson with three of the best horses she had ever worked with. The opportunity was too good to pass up and Pearson is now eyeing a sixth Asian Games appearances in Hangzhou in 2022, when she will be 55.
“I said after Incheon I would retire. I felt old, my body was broken but equestrian is like a really bad addiction. You can’t get enough, you want more and it costs a hell of a lot.
