Sophie Wells takes Paralympics medal haul to 10 after winning two bronzes in equestrian at Paris 2024
Sophie Wells added to her amazing Paralympics medal haul after winning two bronzes in Paris.
Wells, from Harby, has now won 10 medals at the Paralympics - stretching back to London 2012. She added bronze in the Individual Freestyle Event to her tally on Saturday after landing bronze in the Individual Event on Wednesday.
“It was amazing riding in the arena again, I went in thinking this was the last time,” said Wells, after her second bronze. “I wanted to enjoy it but also not relax too soon.”
Wells scored 75.445% in the Individual Freestyle Event, finishing behind Michele George of Belgium and Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp.
Wells has plenty of experience but the Danish-bred LJT Egebjerggards Samoa, owned by The Lady Joseph Trust, was one of the youngest horses in the Grade 5 field.
She was due to partner the more experienced Don Cara M, owned by Rowland Kinch, but a minor setback in their final preparations led to the tough decision to bring the super-talented but inexperienced mare in the best interests of welfare.
On Wednesday, Wells started brightly, scoring a nine from one judge for the first halt, and appeared to have settled into on her task well, with the mare’s ears flicking back and forth to take in her rider’s every subtle aid. The half-passes showed super flow and reach. The halt and rein-back had slight tension, but this is a movement that improves with experience and strength. Wells played it safe in the first medium trot, but it was a really impressive trot tour overall.
The walk elements showed good relaxation and ground cover, and both half-pirouettes were well-executed. The canter work saw super uphill balance and great expression throughout. The final centreline gave way to an excellent halt, again getting a nine from one of the panel, to bring a great effort to a successful end.
Her final mark of 72.257% was one per cent off silver but enough to put them comfortably into bronze - and they had a nervous 20-minute wait for the final three riders to complete before confirming a podium place.
On her mare, Wells said: “She was so brave. Going into that arena, she's really surprised me all week. She's been amazing in there in training but, obviously, you go in and there are quite a few people there.
“She just got a little bit nervous, but she's only eight years old. I held her hand through the whole test and she listened to me, and I couldn't be prouder of her for that. So, I'm very pleased and relieved it's finished.
“My aim was to get through to the freestyle. She's a really cool horse – I'm really lucky to ride her and I know that this is just touching on what she can do. So, after the first day, it's quite nice to settle the nerves a little bit and get her used to the crowd. She was really cool coming out, she was fine at that point. They started clapping a little bit early, but I was like, ‘guys, we’ve not saluted yet’. But, yeah, I’m so proud of her. She's a really cool little horse.
Wells added: “I came in as wanting to qualify for the freestyle in the top eight. It's a really tough grade. I didn’t know where we were going to sit within the rest of the world and there's some great horses here, some great riders here, and you can never, obviously, take that for granted.
“I'm just so proud of her. I mean, she's eight years old, she's an incredible horse, and I know she will be the best horse in the world at some point. But, today, I needed to hold her hand around the test a little bit and give her a bit of confidence.
“The more I do the sport, the more emotional I get for each medal and the more grateful I get to ride the horses that I'm riding and the opportunities that I get coming here and showing off in an arena like this, so I'm incredibly proud.”
Wells was also part of the Great Britain team that finished sixth in the Team Event on Friday.
