Sophie Wells
THE Paralympic motto is “Spirit in Motion”, and for para dressage rider Sophie Wells this motto could not be a truer representation of her grit and determination throughout what has been an incredibly tricky year for her.
Sophie has just returned from the Tokyo Games with a team gold and individual silver medal. She was red-hot favourite to add to her tally of gold medals aboard C Fatal Attraction, or “Jorge” as the 14-year-old is known at home, the horse with whom she won two golds and a silver at the Tryon World Games. But a hind suspensory injury, compounded by an abscess, put paid to that dream, and the timing couldn’t have been more frustrating for Sophie.
“I was hoping that Tokyo would be Jorge’s last para championship and then we could go and compete at grand prix level,” she explains. “It happens to so many people who work hard with horses and get to an ultimate goal and then it’s taken away just before you do it.”
The decision to swap Tokyo horses came
