Britain’s Sophie Wells has moved into the silver medal position on the Orifarm Healthcare FEI World Para Dressage Championships results table, in the grade V individual competition.
Sophie and the 13-year-old Don Jovi gelding Don Cara M scored 75.28% – close to their personal best in this test, which is still known as the “team test” even though it is now being ridden for the individual championship.
Don produced some super classy work in the arena, with Sophie saying “there was lots of things I was really pleased with in there”. The tall gelding helped win team gold for Britain at the Tokyo Paralympics and he has developed impressively in the year since, looking stronger and more at ease in his work, as well a more comfortable in the atmosphere.
But Sophie explained that today he did feel quite nervous just before going in to the BB Horse Arena, which she described as having a “weird atmosphere”.
“It’s different to being outside – it’s quite quiet, but with a bit of a buzz,” she explained. “But then he settled really well and I was pleased with the trot work. I’d say I was being a little bit careful and I wasn’t on full power, but it felt good.
Their only blip was a wrong canter strike off from walk, which Sophie says she “didn’t see coming”.
“But he does sometimes do that when he’s a bit nervous – he did it in Tokyo in the individual too,” she said. “It is what it is, but he came back to me, I took my time to bring him back and then the canter work was good. There was lots of things I was really pleased with in there, and there is still much more in the tank. I can’t even ask 70% of what he has yet.”
Sophie has been enjoying some training with Carl Hester out in Herning this week before competing (pictured above).
“He is the master isn’t he? It has been a bit of a confidence boost going in. It’s been a good couple of years we’ve been working together and it really complements everything I’ve been doing with Ange [Angela Weiss, Sophie’s main trainer] for the past 20 years.”
At the moment, Sophie sits in silver in the World Para Dressage Championships results behind the reigning Paralympic grade V champion, Belgium’s Michele George on Best Of 8.
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