It's been a busy couple of months for us here at Papplewick - a lot of training and getting back to working the horses after the awful snow we've had...   We had a fantastic trip to France, Reece felt on amazing form and I was hoping he could show he is no longer in Nokis shadow! And sure enough he did! He did the best test he's ever done on the first day, winning by 5% and getting over 75%...

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We are very excited to introduce Sophie’s new ride Fatal Attraction (Jorge) to you all. He's only 6 but Sophie hopes to aim him at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 alongside Reece.   Sophie says a big thank you to Charlotte Hogg, his new owner, and Amy Stovold who helped find him. He has settled in very well and Sophie says he is a little star!   In addition Sophie ha...

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Sophie and Reece (Valerius) were stars of the show at the first Para international of the season, held in Deauville, France. They won all three of their classes, the team, individual and freestyle tests, with scores over 75%. This resulted in Sophie winning the ‘Rider of the Show’ award and paying tribute to her trainer, “Thank you Angela Weiss for making the past six years of tr...

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Sophie Wells, Team GB Paralympian Dressage rider, spent an emotional day in London on 12th March collecting her MBE from the Palace.     The rider, who was part of the Gold medal winning Team GB performance and also claimed two silvers for her individual tests at London 2012, was joined by team-mate Deborah Criddle for t...

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Flying the flag for the world of dressage, paralympic rider Sophie Wells was the winner of the TSM Rider Award at the BETA Gala Dinner and Business Awards Evening. (Photo: Sophie Wells receives the TSM Rider Award from Tim Smith of TSM.)     Sponsored and nominated by Black Country Saddles, Sophie was delighted to receive the award which acknowledges riders who work closely with ...

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Happy New Year everybody and here’s to a successful and healthy 2013.   Such a lot happened in 2012 we forgot to mention that Sophie went to the Sports Personality of the Year Awards!   “Sports Personality of the Year is great to be invited to each year. It was a massive honour to be surrounded by complete legends of sport, and it was quite emotional watching back the fil...

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  Photo Leslie Bliss     2012 draws to a spectacular close for Sophie as she is awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List! What an amazing achievement and well deserved for all the hard work and superb results both at the Paralympics and at previous championships. Needless to say, Sophie is as modest and generous as ever, and paid tribute to all of her te...

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It's been a non-stop social whirl for Sophie and her team-mates since London 2012, and life is as busy as ever with the horses, including a successful squad training with Sophie's youngest horse Tango.   As well as social events in London and around the country, Sophie has been attending conferences and media events, giving speeches, visiting schools and presenting awards. She has also been...

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  What an exciting few weeks the Olympics have been!! All the amazing coverage on the television means added exposure for the general public to see and experience different and new sports. I've lost count of how many people have spoken to me about dressage who had never seen it before. Since selection was made for the Paralympics the horses had a week off work, and then we picked up agai...

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10 July 2012, Sophie writes "I have a lot to tell you since my last blog, as you can imagine with the Olympics and Paralympics getting closer by the minute, everything is ramping up! And the big news is that I'VE BEEN SELECTED FOR TEAM GB AT THE PARALYMPICS!!!!!!! Woooohooooo. Very exciting!!! So.... back to the last few competitions before we got to this point! Very sadly my grandad had a m...

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Stop Press!! Sophie has been selected for the Para Dressage team for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. This follows a clean sweep of first and second places in the Grade IV classes at the Hartpury Final Selection Trials on her two top horses Pinocchio and Valerius. Sophie said today: “It is just a dream come true; we’ve been working towards it for so long to be told it’s happe...

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Sophie has today been nominated for the Paralympic Games 2012 with both her top horses, Pinocchio and Valerius. The 5 riders who will compete in the Games will be selected from the nominated list following the final selection trials at Hartpury Festival of Dressage in Gloucestershire from 4 to 8 July. This is a tremendous achievement for Sophie and well deserved after all her hard work and dedicat...

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The London Paralympics are one step closer for Sophie after top performances from Noki and Reece at the British Para Dressage Championships at Hickstead on 18 and 19 June. Sophie was proud and delighted with both horses, Noki winning the Grade IV championship with 76.45% and Reece coming 2nd with 74.84%. Noki then went through to the freestyle and came a close 2nd with 84.38%. Check out the Sophie...

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It’s all systems go for Sophie as the final selection trials for the Paralympics get even closer. The first competition is the British Para Dressage Championships at Hickstead in Sussex on 18 and 19 June, followed by the Hartpury Festival of Dressage in Gloucestershire from 4 to 8 July. Do come along and support our Para riders on their quest for selection for London 2012 - all the top names...

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A personal tribute from Sophie: "I am so sad to report that Jane Goldsmith sadly passed away on 2nd June. Jane was known as the heart of Para Dressage, it was her life and she really put the sport on the map, in this country and all over the world. She was Chief Selector when I was selected for my first Championships in Norway 2009. I would personally like to pay tribute to her for the opportuniti...

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Sophie and Noki achieved a stunning result at the Winter Championships at Hartpury, where they finished second in the Inter I Freestyle, just a hair’s breadth behind Michael Eilberg and Woodlander Dornroeschen. The evening was made extra special by Noki’s owners Jackie and Neil Walker being there to see his super performance.   You can read all about the Championships in Sophie'...

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Sophie was thrilled with the performance of both her top horses in the Para Dressage Grade IV at the Winter Championships. With only eight in her class there was a lot of planning required for warming up and swapping horses, but it was very worthwhile with first and second places on 73.71% and 73.47%. And for the first time Reece finished ahead of Noki leading Sophie to exclaim “My baby boy ...

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It’s been a stressful time recently as poor Noki had to spend three weeks in Oakham veterinary hospital with a split tooth. The tooth had to be removed through his face but he was so incredibly good and brave that they were able to do it under local anaesthetic and sedation! He’s made a good recovery and the scar is healing really well.   On the positive side Sophie had a busy s...

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January 2012: The first competitions of the year have gone well for Sophie and her top horses Noki and Reece, especially a very pleasing 80% for Noki in a Para Winter qualifier, including seven 9s! As well as aiming for selection for the fast approaching Paralympics, Sophie is also hoping to bring on her young horse Tango this year, so we’ll keep you posted on his progress too. 

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December 2011: Sophie was honoured to be invited to compete at the (able-bodied) Young Riders World Cup in Frankfurt. This is a prestigious competition to which only 14 riders from around the world are invited to compete, and Sophie and Noki did brilliantly in front of a jury of top judges to finish 6th. Noki’s owners Jackie and Neil Walker were able to be there too, and as well as the comp...

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