It was with a renewed interest that the spectators, in the venues and watching on television, became gripped by the athletic performances of those competing. This was in no small part due to a stunning promotional campaign which aimed to and succeeded in invigorating the public perception of the Paralympics.
Those promoting the Games were also keen to emphasize the fact that precursor to the Paralympics had been held in the village of Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England in 1948 coinciding with the second occasion London had held the Summer Olympics. This event was organised for disabled British veterans of the Second World War and it was in memory of this that the mascot for the 2012 Paralympic Games was named Mandeville.
The expectations of all involved with organising the 2012 Paralympics were surpassed, breaking records for ticket sales and propelling the profile of the Paralympics into the mainstream.
The venue for the Equestrian events was the picturesque Greenwich Park located in south-east London. This proved to be an ideal location; the surprisingly clement weather and the stunning views of London added a visual intensity to what sportingly was an incredible success on every level.
These Games also saw the most robust testing programme ever put in place at an Olympic and Paralympic Games. The laboratory tested up to 400 samples a day for more than 240 prohibited substances and all equestrian sport-related tests returned negative.
Branded the first #Socialympics, every aspect of London 2012 was “liked”, “tweeted”, “shared”, “hashtagged”, “tweeted”, “twitpic’d”, “flickr’d”, “instagram’d”, “foursquared”, “tumblr’d”, and the list goes on.
The London Games heralded a new era in Olympic and Paralympic coverage, showcasing athletes from around the world before #RecordAudiences. Broadcast partners made more sport available on more media platforms, to more people, than ever before. For the first time, digital coverage exceeded broadcast coverage.
Sophie Christiansen (GBR) & Janeiro 6 competing in Grade Ia achieved the ultimate record haul with Individual gold, Freestyle gold and team gold.
Joan Formosa from Australia with Worldwide PB created quite the commotion when she dethroned Lea Pearson in Grade Ib (undefeated since 2000) to win the Individual gold medal ahead of Pearson in silver medal position.
Natasha Baker also picked up all the gold medals available to her with Individual and freestyle gold in Grade II riding Cabral.
Germany’s Hannelore Brenner confirmed her golden status with Women of the World (a golden partnership already in 2008) picking up Individual and Freestyle gold in Grade III and team silver.
Michele George is Belgium’s golden girl picking up the only medals for Belgium at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with two gold medals in Grade IV riding Rainman.
Pepo Puch, former event rider from Austria, was the only man to win an Individual gold medal at the Para-Equestrian Dressage events, taking Grade Ib Freestyle gold with Fine Feeling ahead of Finland’s Katya Karjailanen & Rosie and title holder Lea Pearson (GBR) & Gentleman.
Great Britain achieved a record haul of 11 medals (five gold, five silver and 1 bronze) taking their overall tally since 1996 to an impressive 44 medals (23 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze).
Second on the overall medals table, Germany have also beaten all their previous Paralympic Games medal records winning seven at London 2012 with two gold, three silver and two bronze taking their tally up to 21 medals in total since 1996 (six gold, ten silver and five bronze).
Michele George in Grade IV provided Belgium with two medals. Prior to London 2012, Belgium had won a silver medal in 2000 and a bronze in 2004.
Singapore moved up the medals table thanks to Laurentia Tan who added a silver and a bronze to her two bronze medals in 2008.
Finland added a London 2012 silver medal to two bronze medals won in Sydney 2000.
Australia add gold to their overall tally taking them to nine medals (three gold, one silver and five bronze).
Austria’s Pepo Puch won their first medals – a gold and a bronze in Grade Ib.
Ireland made a great start on the table, from no medals to three – a team and Helen Kearney’s Individual silver and Freestyle bronze.
We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies
HEALTH & FITNESS 
TEACH ME 
HORSE & HUMAN 
MY EQUESTRIAN LIFE 
