Paralympic Games

The 2004 Paralympic Games closed last Sunday 26 September. Sixty-nine riders from 29 countries gave their absolute best at the Markopoulon Olympic Equestrian Centre. The equestrian competitions started on Tuesday 21 August and finished on Sunday 26 August, with a rest day on Saturday.

For the first time in the history of the Paralympic Games, each rider was competing with his/her own horse. At previous Games, the equestrian athletes were riding on borrowed horses, provided by the organising committee of the host city.

The Paralympic riders in Athens were divided into four Grades: I, II, III and IV, according to their handicap.

Ten countries shared the medals, with Great Britain grabbing no less than 8 of them, among which 5 gold. The British are dominating the sport since Equestrian returned to the Paralympic programme in Atlanta in 1996. Norway and Sweden both earned two gold medals.

In Athens, the British riders most notably demonstrated their superiority with Lee Pearson and Deborah Criddle who contributed three medals each to Great Britain's total tally.

Pearson came to Greece on a mission to maintain the three gold medals he won in Sydney four years ago in his first Paralympic experience. That is exactly what he did by sweeping the competition in Grade I. He won the Individual Championship with a total score of 77.263%. In the Freestyle test, his horse Blue Circle Boy danced to the song "I am so excited" and earned a deserved 87% score for their performance.

Lynn Seidemann (USA) won the silver medal in the Freestyle and joined an elite group of athletes who have won medals in different sports. She had earned a silver medal in the Wheelchair Tennis Women's Doubles in Barcelona 1992.

Criddle shared the headlines with her compatriot. She swept both tests in Grade III, with 74.4 in the Individual Championship on Figaro IX and 81.722% in the Freestyle. Both Pearson and Criddle had been members of the victorious British Team in Sydney 2000, as was Anne Dunham, the most experienced member of the British camp, with participation in three Paralympic Games and for each a Team gold medal, a record that she will try to break in Beijing 2008.

Another country with a great tradition in Equestrian for people with a disability is Norway. Ann Cathrin Lubbe confirmed the preGames anticipation that she was going to be difficult to beat. After earning the first place in the Grade IV warm-up competition, she confirmed her number one position in the Individual Championship, and concluded her quest for gold in the Freestyle with 80.045%.

Both competitions in Grade IV featured the podium. Beside Lubbe, Phillippa Johnson (RSA) gave her country its first ever medal in equestrian Paralympic. Canada's former Eventing rider, Karen Brain earned both bronze medals for her Paralympic debut.

In Grade II an unexpected Swedish rider, Irene Slaettengren, stole the show. She earned two gold medals as a result of her breathtaking performances in the Individual Championship (72.636%) and the Freestyle (78.944%). She triumphed over a strong field of riders that included Sydney gold medallist Joop Stokkel (NED), Sydney bronze medallist Nic Tustain (GBR) and German champion Hannelore Brenner.

Greece, the host country, was represented for the first time ever in the sport with Nikolaos Sigkas. The Serres, Macedonia, native, who didnt have any previous experience in major competitions, delighted his home crowd with his determination and generosity. He competed in Grade III competitions to finish 15th in the Individual and 14th in the Freestyle.