Last year’s Paralympic first reserve Sophie Wells (pictured) made it a double one-two at the 2009 Para-Equestrian Winter Championships held at Vale View Equestrian Centre, Leics, on 28 March, despite her Hong Kong ride Touchdown II being out of action.

 

Wells won the grade IV individual championship test with her own youngster Valerius on 71.29% and took second place on Jackie Walker’s Pinocchio, whom she has on loan for a year. In the freestyle, the tables were turned with the 12-year-old 17.2hh gelding, formerly ridden by Pippa Fisher and Peter Storr, taking the honours with 71.65% and Wells’s seven-year-old 17.2hh gelding finishing second.

 

Wells, who has also qualified for the able-bodied winter championships at novice and elementary level, said: “A lot has changed in the past couple of months. Touchdown developed a keratoma [tumour of the hoof wall] and was operated on last December. He is recovering well, but will be out of action for a year, so I thought I wouldn’t be doing much this season. Then I was given Pinocchio two months ago. He’s so big and is used to tall riders. I’m 5’2”, so a lot of people didn’t think it would be possible for me to ride him, but he copes so well with me having just one finger on each rein and being ridden with two whips – nothing phases him. I also didn’t expect Valerius to step up to the mark as he has done, so suddenly I have two nice horses to compete.”

 

There were two other double winners. Natasha Baker and Wald Minor scored the highest percentage of the show with 76.95 in the grade II freestyle as well as winning the individual championship test. Kathryn Wheelock and Indi headed the same classes in grade III, also scoring an impressive freestyle percentage of 73.2%.

 

For the full results, click here.