Team GB’s Paralympic riders collect the full set!

Sophie Wells and Don Cara M © BEF / Jon Stroud Media

After the first day of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic action, Sir Lee Pearson, Georgia Wilson and Sophie Wells headed back to the stables with a gold, silver and bronze medal

It was a gold medal for Sir Lee Pearson, a silver medal for Sophie Wells and a bronze medal for Georgia Wilson after today’s (Thursday 26 August) Grade II, IV and V Paralympic dressage individual event!

Go for gold!

Sir Lee Pearson is a super-successful Grade II Paralympic rider. Until today, he’d won 11 Paralympic gold medals, two silver and a bronze – but after winning his Grade today riding 10-year-old Breezer, he’s now won a massive 12 Paralympic gold medals! He’s ridden at every Paralympic Games (except one) since it was added to the line-up in 1996 and he’s won a gold medal at every one that he’s ridden at. Today, at the 2020 Paralympic Games, he scored an amazing personal best of 76.265%.

Super silver!

Sophie Wells got a fab score of 74.405% and won the silver medal, riding Don Cara M. Her horse was super-expressive and fluid from start to finish – although a slightly spicy canter might have cost them a couple of marks! Sophie’s been a World and European champion in the past – and she’s competed in able-bodied dressage, too. She’s been part of two Paralympic gold medal teams, in 2012 and 2016, and she’s earned three individual silver medals and an individual gold, as well.

Brilliant in bronze!

Georgia Wilson pulled off a flawless performance on the lovely Sakura (which means cherry blossom in Japanese!) and scored 72.765% – this was nearly 1.5% better than any other test she’d done at this level. She’s just 25 years old, and this was her first-ever Paralympic test – although she’s been really successful at European championships, too. Her horse was one of the younger horses in the competition, being just seven years old.

What’s next?

The Grade I and Grade III tests will take place tomorrow (Friday 27 August) – look out for Great Britain’s Natasha Baker and Keystone Dawn Chorus, who will take to the white boards at 12:36 (BST) for their individual Grade III performance.

The top eight horse and rider combinations per grade based on the result of the individual test also progress to the individual freestyle test (Monday 30 August).

Grade II results:

1. Great Britain’s Sir Lee Pearson and Breezer – 76.265%
2. Austria’s Pepo Puch and Sailor’s Blue – 73.441%
3. Great Britain’s Georgia Wilson and Sakura – 72.765%
4. Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing and La Boum 20 – 72.294%
5. USA’s Beatrice de Lavalette and Clarc – 70.265%
6. Denmark’s Katrine Kristensen and Welldone Dallas – 69.794%
7. Japan’s Mitsuhide Miyaji and Charmander – 66.824%
8. Russian Paralympic Committee’s Iuliia Poliakova and Romina Power – 66.824%
9. Australia’s Victoria Davies and Celere – 65.618%
10. Japan’s Soshi Yoshigoe and Hashtag – 63.823%
11. Singapore’s Maximillian Tan and Don’s Day Dream 61.588%

Grade IV results:

1. Netherlands’ Sanne Voets and Demantur – 76.585%
2. Brazil’s Rodolpho Riskalla and Don Henrico – 74.659%
3. Belgium’s Manon Claeys and San Dior 2 – 27.878%
4. Sweden’s Louise Etzner Jakobsson and Goldstrike B.J. – 72.634%
5. Denmark’s Susanne Jensby Sunesen and Leeds – 71.976%
6. Germany’s Saskia Deutz and Soyala – 70.975%
7. USA’s Kate Shoemaker and Solitaer 40 – 70.854%
8. South Africa’s Philippa Johnson-Dwyer and Just In Time – 69.780%
9. France’s Vladimir Vinchon and Fidertanz For Rosi – 68.695%
10. Australia’s Sharon Jarvis and Romanos – 68.366%
11. Austria’s Bernd Brugger and Bellagio 4 – 66.903%
12. Finland’s Pia-Paulina Reitti and Supremo – 66.269%
13. Russian Paralympic Committee’s Laurentio II – 65.976%
14. Japan’s Katsuji Takashima and Huzette – 65.951%
15. Ireland’s Rosemary Jean Gaffney and Werona – 65.390%

Grade V results:

1. Belgium’s Michele George and Best Of 8 – 76.524%
2. Great Britain’s Sophie Wells and Don Cara M – 74.405%
3. Netherlands’ Frank Hosmar and Alphaville – 73.405%
4. Germany’s Regine MIspelkamp and Highlander Delight’s – 73.191%
5. Russian Paralympic Committee’s Natalia Martianova and Quinta – 71.405%
6. Sweden’s Lena Malmstrom and Fabulous Fidelie – 69.833%
7. Belgium’s Kevin van Ham and Eros Van Ons Heem – 69.357%
8. Australia’s Amelia White and Genius 60 – 69.238%
9. Italy’s Federica Sileoni and Burberry – 69.048%
10. Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Sharbatly and Godiva DII – 66.691%
11. South Africa’s Cayla van der Walt and Daturo II – 66.643%
12. Ireland’s Tamsin Addison and Fahrenheit – 66.452%
13. Austria’s Valentina Strobl and Bequia Simba –
14. Switzerland’s Nicole Geiger and Amigo – 64.381%