If they gave out gold medals for broad smiles and enthusiastic waving on a medal podium, then it’s a fair bet that Sophie Christiansen would sweep the board with those, too.
The British rider competes in the grade 1a classification for those with the most severe impairment, and has, to date, won medals at every Paralympic Games since her first in Athens in 2004.
It all started for Christensen with a school trip to her local Riding for The Disabled centre back in 1993. Then, at the tender age of six, she started riding. Just over 10 years later at just 16 years old, she took part in the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games and came away with a bronze medal in the individual competition.
Since then, Christiansen has won two golds (team and individual) and a silver (freestyle) in Beijing and then, on home turf, three golds in London (team, individual and freestyle), including a Paralympic record and personal best score of 84.75%.
In recognition of her success in London, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.
Berkshire born and bred, Christiansen has cerebral palsy, which affects all her muscles, including her speech. She is one of the few British grade 1A riders who does not use a wheelchair, although she does use an electric scooter to get about as she cannot walk long distances.
She has spoken before about how her Paralympic success has helped improve her communication skills considerably, a result of being in constant demand for radio and TV interviews.
