Paralympic perfection

THEY TRAVELLED TO TOKYO THROUGH UNCHARTED WATERS… YOUNG HORSES, A DEBUTANT RIDER, PROBLEMATIC PREPARATION AND ALMOST UNBEARABLE PRESSURE TO PERFORM. HOWEVER, THE FOUR RIDERS FOUND INSPIRATION AND BELIEF IN EACH OTHER AND THEIR TEAM WHICH BROUGHT EIGHT MEDALS AND, AGAINST THE ODDS, A PLACE IN HISTORY.

ABOVE: GEORGIA WILSON MADE A STUNNING PARALYMPIC DEBUT, WINNING BRONZE IN THE GRADE II INDIVIDUAL AND GRADE II FREESTYLE WITH THE SEVENYEAR-OLD SAKURA.

LEFT: LEE PEARSON, SOPHIE WELLS AND NATASHA BAKER TOOK GOLD IN THE TEAM COMPETITION, THE SEVENTH PARALYMPIC TITLE FOR GREAT BRITAIN AND RETAINING OUR UNBEATEN RECORD.

ABOVE: LEE PEARSON SCORED A PERSONAL BEST OF 77.636% WITH BREEZER IN THE TEAM TEST TO HELP SECURE GOLD. THE TEN-YEAROLD GELDING BY BACARDI WAS BRED AND PRODUCED BY LEE, WHO CREDITS HACKING OUT IN STOKE ON TRENT WITH HELPING THIS SENSITIVE HORSE TO BE BRAVE IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE TOKYO STADIUM.

LEFT: ALTHOUGH THERE WAS SADNESS THAT THE RIDERS COULD NOT TO BE JOINED BY THEIR FAMILIES IN TOKYO, THEY PAID TRIBUTE TO THE INCREDIBLE SUPPORT FROM THE ‘BACK ROOM ‘ TEAM WHO WERE WITH THEM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

RIGHT: LEE PEARSON’S BREEZER, LED BY GROOM JANE LEESE, PASSES THE TROT-UP WITH FLYING COLOURS.

RIGHT: SOPHIE WELLS SAVOURS THE MOMENT ON THE PODIUM, LANDING AN EMOTIONAL SILVER IN THE GRADE V.

ABOVE: A HUG FOR GEORGIA WILSON FROM HER MENTOR SOPHIE WELLS, OF WHOM SHE SAYS: “I COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT SOPHIE. SHE CALMS ME DOWN A LOT AND THE TRAINING IS JUST INVALUABLE.”

RIGHT: ON THE GRADE II PODIUM TOGETHER, LEE PEARSON WHO NOW HAS 14 PARALYMPIC MEDALS, AND GEORGIA WILSON, WHO SCOOPED THREE AT HER FIRST PARALYMPICS. RIGHT: SUBSTITUTED SUBSTITUTED AT THE LAST MINUTE FOR CHARLOTTE HOGG’S C FATAL ATTRACTION, ROLAND KINCH’S DON CARA M HAD BIG BOOTS TO FILL. SOPHIE WELLS USED ALL HER EXPERIENCE TO PRODUCE IMPRESSIVE TESTS FROM THE SENSITIVE DONNIE. “WE START PREPPING FOR PARIS NOW,” SAID SOPHIE.

ABOVE: LEE PEARSON COMPLETED A HAT-TRICK OF MEDALS WITH GOLD IN THE FREESTYLE, RIDING BREEZER TO MUSIC FROM KUNG FU PANDA TO SCORE 82.447%. LEE SAID: “I’M TWICE OVER THE MOON – I ACTUALLY DIDN’T CARE IF I WON A MEDAL, THAT HORSE GAVE ME HIS HEART IN THERE. HE WAS BRAVER THAN THE TEAM TEST, BRAVER EVEN THAN THE INDIVIDUAL TEST A FEW DAYS AGO.”

LEFT: DON CARA M INSPECTS THE MEDAL WINNER’S BOUQUET WITH SOPHIE WELLS AND GROOM JADE LOCKWOOD.

RIGHT: DON CARA M FOUND THE FREESTYLE A LITTLE OVERWHELMING AND DIDN’T SHOW HIS HUGE POTENTIAL BUT SOPHIE SAID: IT’S BEEN AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE HAVING DONNIE HERE. I’M THRILLED WITH HIM, I COULDN’T HAVE BELIEVED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THAT WE’D COME AWAY WITH A GOLD AND A SILVER, NOT AT ALL.”

LEFT: NATASHA BAKER CELEBRATES HER SILVER MEDAL IN THE GRADE III INDIVIDUAL WITH MUM LORRAINE.

RIGHT: NATASHA ON THE PODIUM WITH THE TOKYO PARALYMPIC MASCOT ON BOARD.

BELOW: ALTHOUGH THE EDGE WAS TAKEN OFF KEYSTONE DAWN CHORUS’S PERFORMANCE IN THE FREESTYLE BY THE HEAT AND THE EXERTION OF THE TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL TESTS, NATASHA BAKER WAS DELIGHTED WITH THE WAY LOTTIE, BY DIMAGGIO, HAD PROGRESSED THROUGH THE WEEK. “I’M OVERJOYED WITH THE OUTCOME, IT’S BEEN SUCH AN INCREDIBLE GAMES. I THINK JUST THE WAY THAT SHE WENT IN THERE AND HANDLED IT – SHE’S GROWN IN CONFIDENCE EACH DAY.” BELOW: THE EXCITEMENT WAS PALPABLE AMONG THE SUPPORT TEAM – DESPITE THE BRITISH TEAM’S DOMINANCE OF THE PARALYMPICS, THE GRADES ARE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE AND RESULTS OFTEN WENT TO THE WIRE IN TOKYO.