Boost for Paralympic dressage

There’s a bright future ahead for Britain’s paralympic squad following a £15,000 sponsorship for gold medalist Lee Pearson, plus two new horses for other squad members.

Lee has secured the significant sponsorship from Dudley College, a West Midlands-based college which is a keen supporter of disabled athletes.

The money will pay for a groom to help Lee with his horses, enabling him to concentrate on his quest to retain individual and team gold medals at the World Championships in Belgium this year.

New rides for disabled riders

Dressage benefactors Tony and Sarah Pidgley have purchased Prinz Heinrich, a medium dressage horse formerly ridden by Maria Eilberg, for grade II rider Nicola Tustain.

Nicola will probably share the horse with grade I rider Anne Dunham at the World Championships.

In addition, grade III rider Kay Gebbie last week took possession of an 11-year-old prix st georges horse, kindly loaned to her by an American owner.

“All of a sudden, things have come together,” said Jane Goldsmith, director training for the Paralympic squad. “Now, every person on the elite squad has a world-class horse. This time last year, I was hoping I would be able to say this in a year’s tiime and now I can.”

The Hartpury Premier League show (27-29 June) will play host to an international for Paralympic teams from several nations, including Denmark, Holland, Greece and Italy, and will be a selection trial for the World Championships.

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