Three rides, three medals on Tokyo 2020 Paralympics day one
Thursday 26 August 2021
It was a great first day at the office for the ParalympicsGB equestrian athletes in the stunning surroundings of the Bajilkoen Equestrian Park, with three medals added to Britain’s medal tally. In the Grade 2 individual test, the ‘godfather’ of para dressage, Sir Lee Pearson, made it historic twelfth gold medal, while squad mate Georgia Wilson, at the opposite end of her career, took bronze on her Paralympic debut. While the hotly contested, Grade 5 lived up to the billing with Sophie Wells, in her third consecutive Games, taking an emotional silver.
Georgia Wilson – Grade 2
Welsh sensation Georgia Wilson may have had a last-minute call up to the squad, and on her debut, too, but she didn’t show any nerves on such a big stage with her inexperienced ride, Sakura. Georgia has been mentored by Sophie Wells for much of her career and the influence is clear.
While, at just seven years old, the chestnut mare is high on talent but low in big competition runs Georgia, third to go, gave her a great ride full of quality and the judges awarded 72.765%, a new personal best for the duo. British-bred by Geri Eilberg, Sakura is aptly named because it’s the Japanese word for cherry blossom, the national flower of Japan and a sign of optimism and rebirth.
Georgia, who always sports a beaming smile, commented: “Everyone said it was going to be the hottest day so far in Tokyo and I thought ‘oh gosh, I’m on really early in the afternoon’, but it was okay – I put it to the back of my mind and focused on what I needed to do. I got there in the end.
“I do feel nervous, but when I’m on it’s fine, then I speak to Soph, who’s in my ear [via a radio headset] until I’m going up the centre line, and it really calms me down.”
And was young Georgia intimidated by competing alongside Sir Lee Pearson? Of course not: “It’s nice to compete against Lee and to have that super athlete in the same class, so I can try and get to his level and hopefully be as successful as him one day!
“It’s definitely healthy competition and it makes you want to give that extra little push to keep improving. It makes you a better athlete in the long run, so it’s really nice that he’s my competitor and teammate. He’s very funny, so he takes all the pressure off and makes it fun,” she beamed.
Lee Pearson – Grade II
Twenty-one years after making his Paralympic debut in Sydney, Sir Lee Pearson was back on the stage that he loves best. Tokyo, however, is a very different proposition than previous Games – a new, largely untested partner in Breezer, who he bred himself, tricky preparation due to COVID-19 and EHV-1, and the additional focus of becoming a foster parent certainly provided ‘the lad from Stoke’ with plenty of added pressure.
Despite all that, Lee showed that he thrives on the pressure and he channeled any nerves into positive energy to give the incredibly sensitive Breezer all the confidence he needed to produced a flowing test packed with power and grace. As he exited the arena, there was an air of uncertainty – was it enough? Yes, as became apparent when 76.265% was posted on the giant neon scoreboard above the stadium. This saw Lee overtake long-term friendly rival Pepo Puch from Austria, who himself had knocked Georgia off the top earlier in the class. The final rider for the home nation, Soshi Yoshigoe, couldn’t better the score and it was a twelfth Paralympic gold medal for Lee.
There was an anxious moment at the end when the appreciative crowed clapped and whooped to recognise a job well done, but equally it visibly unnerved Breezer – a reassuring pat from dad and a nod of the head to the crowd to ask for quiet calmed the ten-year-old gelding and they left the area.
This landmark medal means Lee overtakes Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and swimmer Dave Roberts in the list of all-time British medal winners.
“I was very happy – actually crying at the end because it was emotional. It’s been a long journey with a homebred horse and, on top of that, I’m a dad now, which has made me more emotional! Loads of emotions come and with no family here too. To say he [Breezer] has been with me since he was hours old in my parents’ field does make it extra special,” said Lee afterwards.
He continued: “Genuinely, I was happy to survive the test beforehand and a medal of any colour would have been a dream. At our last outing at Hartpury, we didn’t complete our last test due to his sensitivity, so that was on my mind. But he didn’t let me down today.
“He’s coped brilliantly here. I’m genuinely proud of him as he generally has been very brave – but I guess hacking out in Stoke-on-Trent helps! I hope the end of the test hasn’t upset him for the team test, but it’ll be a different day and if he’s as calm as he was today I’ll be over the moon.”
Commenting on his longevity in para sport, he said: “I never think much ahead – I try to enjoy every day. With horses, it’s hard to think to far ahead, you have to think about where you are now and in your training. What will they give you that day, what changes are you going to make. I never believed my life would be how it is, up to Sydney and afterwards. It’s surreal, I use that word a lot, but it’s true. I never take anything for granted – I won’t take today for granted, or tomorrow. I literally live for today.”
On being a LGBT+ athlete: “For anyone in any job or life situation, it’s a shame if they can’t feel they can be themselves, they can’t accept their disability or their sexuality. I think it’s sad that we still have countries where people still feel they can’t be themselves. When I came out, I struggled with my own feelings more than society did. Things were changing when I was 20, but it’s a big battle you have with yourself.
“You can hide your sexuality, but I can’t hide my disability and I’ve walked around with my head held high in both cases. The Paralympics is about acceptance and if we can’t make acceptance around sexuality as we’ve done with disability into the world, I think that’s a shame really. I’m the most normal abnormal person you’ll ever meet! Love has to prevail over everything, no one wants to be different, but we have to embrace it – that’s the world. Those different people aren’t going anywhere.”
Georgia was confirmed in bronze medal position, making this a dream Paralympic debut. She said: “The medal hasn’t really begun to sink in yet! I didn’t think it would happen on Suki [Sakura]. It was nice to watch Lee and to be on the podium with him is one of those amazing things that not many people can say they’ve done. I’d just like to thank everyone from the National Lottery and the people behind the scenes who help us get to this amazing place and ready to shine in the arena.”
Sophie Wells – Grade V
Of all the ParalympicsGB equestrian athletes, Sophie Wells might admit to feeling the most pressure heading into Tokyo as a result of a turbulent preparation. A late change of horse, limited ability to compete and the pressure of past results can all impact on your own belief and that which you have in you horse. But the 31-year-old rider from Lincolnshire showed that her third consecutive Games performance would be memorable for the right reasons.
Riding Roland and Maria Kinch’s Don Cara M, a horse she’s had for less than two years, Sophie knew it would be a big ask for the 12-year-old gelding. Lightly competed and with no international or championship experience, coupled with his anxious nature, to perform on the Paralympic stage would be a gargantuan step up for ‘Donnie’.
He answered that call in emphatic style. Trending in the lead for much of the test, a miscommunication in a simple change and tension in the collected walk just lost a few crucial marks, but it was a performance to be proud of for 74.405%, which gave them a well-deserved, and emotionally charged, silver – medal number seven for Sophie.
Sophie said: “I’m so overwhelmed with emotion! I came into this having absolutely no expectations and just a little bit of fear of what he could do in there, but also belief in him because I knew that if he relaxed and was with me, he could medal. This horse has never been abroad, he’s never competed abroad, he’s never done a championship, he’s so green – even at 12. He’s such a sensitive person, too, and he’s an anxious horse, not so much in his environment, but in himself. I was hoping he’d go in and trust me whatever happened and I’d genuinely be happy with that. It’s weird for me to say coming from a position, where at all the previous championships I’ve ever done, I’ve only wanted gold medals. So, to come into this Games without C Fatal Attraction, who would have had the pressure to win gold, I’m overwhelmed.
I have so much belief in this horse, I know he can do it and I’m so grateful to his owners Roland and Maria Kinch. Tracy and Amy Woodhead gave me the ride and they just went with it, having never been involved with para before, and they’ve just been amazing. I know this is just the beginning for him, which is so exciting.
It means the world to put him on this stage – to show the judges what he can do is so exciting. I’m not at all disappointed by the fact we were leading and then dropped – if he’d have made mistake a couple of weeks ago, he would have lost the plot. He overtries and overthinks, so he catastrophises it in his mind. For him to come back from that made me proud.
As a horse, he doesn’t really have a weakness. He’s got a great walk, trot and canter, and he can’t do flying changes, which was one of the reasons he came to me as for para – he doesn’t have them, so he was a bit of a write off in able-bodied. His talent is there and the future is exciting.
Coming up
So, the complete trio of gold, silver and bronze on day one gives Great Britain pole position in the equestrian medal table – a great start to the campaign.
Tomorrow is the turn of Grade 3 rider Natasha Baker riding Joanna Jensen, Christian Landolt, Phil Baker and her own Keystone Dawn Chorus in the Grade III. They go at 12.36 BST.
Follow all the action via our Tokyo hub at https://www.britishequestrian.org.uk/teams/tokyo-2020/olympic-squad
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