• Paralympic dressage star, Sophie Christiansen aims high
  • Posted on October 20, 2009 by awardle | 0 Responses

  • The Para-Dressage European Championships get underway this week in Norway. Sophie Christiansen will be representing Britain on her new challenge, Rivaldo of Berkeley, also known as Robin. “I’m looking forward to the Europeans but nervous at the same time. I have posted good results this year on Lambrusco, who I rode in Hong Kong and also on Robin, so I am in a very good position, but trying not to get complacent.”

    Sophie has cerebral palsy which means that she rides in the category for the most disabled of riders. Sophie won two golds and a silver in Hong Kong last year. She will now be aiming to add more medals to her collection this week in Norway. Sophie enters the competition as defending champion in both the Grade 1a championship and freestyle category.

    Christiansen has owned Robin for only 3months “It has been a sharp learning curve for him as he’s had to understand that my involuntary movements aren’t always instructions to him – for example, not to canter when my leg goes back. One of my strengths as a rider is that I can get almost any horse and get the best out of it. It is probably because I have never had my own horse and have had to rely on borrowing from the South Bucks Riding for the Disabled Association group.” To say that Sophie is swapping and changing horses, she definitely has the natural horsemanship required to bond with her equine friends. They have to trust her impeccably to perform successfully especially in the freestyle event.

    Christiansen warmed up for the championships in Norway by winning first and second in all three classes at the recent Festival of Dressage and then went on to win the Supreme Individual Championship. “It was my first big competition with Robin so we weren’t sure how he would be. I was very pleased with both horses…they performed impeccably, which made my life easier”.

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    Source: www.news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/8207951.stm

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