Lee Pearson, British paradressage rider
Lee Pearson is a successful Grade 1B paradressage rider who has his own competition yard in Staffordshire.
He was born in February 1974 with a condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, affecting muscles in his arms and legs, causing Lee to grow up with plastic splints for support.
From a young age he was determined not to let his condition get in the way and was awarded the Children of Courage award in 1980 by Margaret Thatcher for his outstanding bravery.
He went on excel at school and enjoy extra-curriculum activities such as quad biking and jet skiing. He began riding at the age of eight when he was bought a donkey called Sally.
This was the start of a very successful riding career. Lee holds an impressive competition record, including three golds at Sydney in 2000, three golds at Athens in 2004 and three golds at Beijing in 2008.
These nine Paralympic gold medals meant Lee held 100% success rate over the three games.
At the London 2012 Paralympic games Lee and his 17.2hh Hanoverian gelding, Gentleman, won individual silver and individual bronze along with their team gold.
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Other achievements include five paradressage world championships (1999, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2010) three paradressage European titles (2002, 2005 and 2009) and the able-bodied BD National Championships at Hickstead in 2003.
Following this success, Lee went on the be voted the BBC Midlands Sports Personality of the year in 2004.
Lee broke his back during training in June 2011, but this has not deterred his Olympic dreams.
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