| Sir Lee Pearson CBE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pearson in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | David Lee Pearson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Para-dressage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 February 1974 (age 50) Cheddleton, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Horse(s) |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sir David Lee Pearson (born 4 February 1974) is a 14-times Paralympic Games gold medallist, having represented British para-equestrianism in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo. [1] Over the course of his career he has won 30 gold medals at European, World and Paralympic level.
Lee Pearson was born in Cheddleton, England, with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita [3] and first came to public attention in 1980, when British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher carried him up stairs in 10 Downing Street having awarded him a "Children of Courage" medal. [2]
Pearson turned professional after he was inspired by the Atlanta Olympics. He won three gold medals in the championship dressage, freestyle dressage, and team dressage events at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Paralympics. [2] With his horse Gentleman, he won gold in the team dressage event at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, silver in the championship dressage and bronze in the freestyle. [4]
He noted after his failure to win gold in the freestyle competition in London that he had been voted down by the British judge, but said that he would compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, on a different horse named Zion. [5]
He and his home-bred horse Breezer [2] [3] won three gold medals at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. [1]
| Competition | Venue | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 World Championships |  Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2000 Paralympic Games |  Sydney | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2002 European Championships |  Portugal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2003 World Championships |  Belgium | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2004 Paralympic Games |  Athens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2005 European Championships |  Hungary | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 2007 World Championships |  Hartpury | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2008 Paralympic Games |  Beijing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games |  Lexington | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 Paralympic Games | London | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games |  Caen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2015 European Championships | Deauville | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 2016 Paralympic Games |  Rio de Janeiro | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games | Tryon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 Paralympic Games |  Tokyo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2022 FEI World Championships | Herning | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Paralympics total | 14 | 2 | 1 | 17 | |
| World Championship total | 14 | 2 | 1 | 17 | |
| European Championships total | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 | |
| Overall total | 33 | 8 | 2 | 43 | |
Pearson was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Staffordshire University in July 2005. [6]
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours for services to disabled sports, [7] [8] Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism and to disabled sport, [9] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism and to disabled sport. [10] [11] He was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism. [12]
Lee Pearson runs his own dressage yard in Staffordshire and teaches many around the country. [13] [14] Pearson was the first openly gay member of the British team and is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. [2] [3] [15] [16] In 2020, he became a single foster parent to a 15-year-old foster son. [17]
Lee Pearson and Andrew Richardson, I am who I am, Worcester, 2021. ISBN 978-1910469347
The Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) is a United Kingdom based charity founded in 1969 focused on providing therapeutic horse-riding, equestrian vaulting and carriage driving lessons to people with developmental and physical disabilities as well seeking to improve the lives of those with mental health difficulties. Princess Anne has been the organisation's President since 1985.
Eleanor May Simmonds is a British retired Paralympian swimmer who competed in S6 events. She came to national attention when she competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning two gold medals for Great Britain. She was the youngest member of the team, at the age of 13.
Laurentia Tan Yen Yi BBM PBM, is a Singaporean para-equestrian competitor. Tan developed cerebral palsy and profound deafness after birth, and moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of three. She took up horse riding aged five years as a form of physiotherapy. She subsequently completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf, and graduated with an honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in hospitality management and tourism.
Anne Patricia Dunham is a British Para-equestrian who has competed in the Paralympic Games.
Dame Sarah Joanne Storey is a British cyclist and swimmer, a multiple gold medallist in the Paralympic Games, and six times British (able-bodied) national track champion.
Laura Tomlinson MBE is a German-British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 30 June 2012 the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) ranked her 3rd in the world riding Mistral Højris and 36th on Andretti H. In that year, Tomlinson, riding Mistral Højris under her maiden name of Laura Bechtolsheimer, won two medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London; gold for Great Britain in the team dressage with Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, the first ever Olympic team gold in the discipline for her country, and bronze in the individual dressage behind gold medalist and compatriot Dujardin.
Sophie Margaret Christiansen is an English former equestrian who competed in four successive Paralympic Games. In 2012 and 2016 she gained three gold medals at the Paralympics. In 2008 she won two gold medals and a silver at the Beijing Paralympics whilst studying for a master's degree in mathematics at Royal Holloway, University of London. She works as a software developer at investment bank Goldman Sachs and as a disability campaigner. She qualified for the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics but had to drop out due to her horse not being fit.
Simon Laurens is a British Para-equestrian who competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, held in Beijing, China.
Carl Hester is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 8 August 2012, the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia. In 2012, Hester formed part of the Great Britain Dressage team that won gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin is a British dressage rider, equestrian, and writer. A multiple World and Olympic champion, Dujardin has been described as the dominant dressage rider of her era. In 2014 she held the complete set of available individual elite dressage titles: the individual Olympic freestyle, World freestyle and Grand Prix Special, World Cup individual dressage and European freestyle, and Grand Prix Special titles. Dujardin was the first rider to hold this complete set of titles at the same time.
Mark Lee Colbourne MBE is a former Welsh paralympic-cyclist, who competed for both Wales and Great Britain.
Oliver William Hynd MBE, known as Ollie, is a British swimmer. He competed in the Paralympics as a class 8 swimmer, having neuromuscular myopathy and associated limb deformities. In 2018, following reclassification protocols, Hynd moved into the S9 class, but remained in SB8 for breaststroke.
Bethany Charlotte Firth is a Northern Irish Paralympic swimmer. Since 2014 she has competed for Great Britain; previously, Firth had represented Ireland. A six time Paralympic gold medalist, she has won gold in her specialist event - the 100 metres backstroke - for both Ireland at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and Great Britain at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics. These were in addition to the Mixed 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay S14 at the 2020 Games, and 200 metres medley and 200 metres freestyle for Great Britain at the 2016 Games, where she was the nation's most successful Paralympian with three golds and a silver medal. She competes in the S14 classification for athletes with an intellectual impairment.
Michèle George is a Paralympic equestrian of Belgium. She won seven gold and one silver medal at the Paralympic Games.
Sophie Wells is an English para-equestrian who won three medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, three at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, two at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and two at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Natasha Louise Baker is a British para-equestrian who won 2 gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, 3 at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and 1 more in the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Deborah Criddle MBE is a British para-equestrian who won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and three medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Ricky Balshaw, is a British para equestrian rider who represented Britain in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, winning the silver medal with Deacons Georgi. He also holds two world-championships and one European award.
Nicola Tustain is a retired Welsh Paralympic dressage rider. During her career, Tustain won multiple para-dressage medals at the World Championships and Paralympic Games. She was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2010.
Suzanna Hext is a British Paralympic swimmer and equestrian, who won three gold medals in dressage at the 2017 FEI European Championships, and two medals at both the 2019 and 2023 World Para Swimming Championships. She finished fourth in two S5 swimming events at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
