Brilliant Brits, dazzling performances and medals galore: seven unmissable stories from Tokyo Paralympic dressage day one

The opening day of dressage action at the Tokyo Paralympic Games had it all – medals, emotion, excitement and a whole heap of inspirational horses and riders. Find out how day one unfolded in the Equestrian Park...

Sir Lee Pearson scooped his 12th Paralympic gold medal with the home-bred Breezer in the grade II individual at the Tokyo Paralympics, with an international personal best for the combination in all para tests

• Find out why this win meant so much to Lee

And what a start for Paralympic debutantes Georgia Wilson and the seven-year-old Sakural. The pair’s talent, cool heads and maturity beyond their years was rewarded with a bronze medal in the grade II individual

• Read more about the eye-catching chestnut mare Sakura – who shares a name with Japan’s iconic cherry blossom – and what Georgia was most please about in their performance

Sophie Wells and Don Cara M capped the day with an emotional silver, rounding off a full-house of medals from the three Brits in action on day one in the Equestrian Park

• Learn what the key has been to this “Ferrari” of a horse and what the win meant to Sophie

Meanwhile, Belgium’s Michele George and Best Of 8 posted an impressive score of 76.52% to secure grade V gold at the Tokyo Paralympics

• Hear what Michele felt was the “most important thing” about her performance today

Reigning grade IV world and European champions Sanne Voets and Demantur added their first Paralympic title to their glittering collection, with individual gold

• Read what Sanne had to say about the pair’s sparkling performance

H&H’s Tokyo horse of the day is US rider Kate Shoemaker’s equine partner, Solitaer 40

• Read more about this pair’s amazing journey, their special bond and why people should never tell them that they “can’t”

Ahead of the action, H&H caught up with team groom Jade Lockwood, to chat about careers, life in the ParalympicsGB camp and how she got into grooming

• Find out more about Jade’s experiences of her first Paralympic Games and life behind the scenes at Tokyo’s Equestrian Park

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Lucy Elder

H&H senior news writer

Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.