It’s been a rewarding and challenging few months for Sophie following her tremendous and well-deserved success at WEG.
Reward came in the form of the Devoucoux Dressage Award at the Animal Health Trust Awards on October 31st at the Dorchester Hotel in London. Beating Charlotte Dujardin and Charlotte Fry to the dressage award, this is how Sophie was described in the shortlist: ‘Grade V para rider, Sophie Wells is the ultimate sportswoman. Supreme dedication, a 360° approach, a desire to constantly strive for improvement and determination beyond measure. All her hard work paid off at the World Equestrian Games where she took the two individual gold medals on offer with Charlotte Hogg’s C Fatal Attraction – both with World Record scores – and was pivotal to the team securing Paralympic qualification for 2020 and the silver medal. She has represented Great Britain at the last nine consecutive para championships, winning 25 medals in total, 16 of them gold.’
Sophie’s response was as modest as always “Oh my goodness, I literally can’t believe it... at the Animal Health Trust Awards tonight, up for the Dressage award and I didn’t think I had a hope against the amazing Charlotte Dujardin and Charlotte Fry, and I can’t believe I won... what a massive, massive honour. Thank you so much to all my team, you have enabled this to happen. You are amazing and I can’t thank you enough...”
Challenge was faced at the British Dressage National Convention where Sophie was one of the star presenters ‘Striving for Perfection’. Admitting to feeling out of her comfort zone, Sophie and her demo riders Izzy Palmer and Georgia Wilson (both reserve riders for WEG) nevertheless showed how Para training and riding have to be adaptable while still striving for quality in the performance. Well done ladies!