Lee Pearson is used to making waves wherever he goes. The 33 year-old recipient of both an MBE (Member of the British Empire) and an OBE (Order of the British Empire) is already a legend in his own lifetime, but his appointment as first Chairman of the new FEI Athletes’ Committee is due as much to his larger-than-life personality and people-skills as it is to his extraordinary achievements as a para-equestrian competitor. Unafraid to say what he thinks about any topic, he should prove a remarkable asset to his committee and therefore to equestrian athletes everywhere - “but don’t ask me to be politically correct!” he insists.
He certainly won’t be overwhelmed by the company in which he finds himself when the new group holds its first meeting sometime over the next few months. He may be joining with dressage champion Isabel Werth, eventing super-star Andrew Hoy and show jumping’s Cayetano Martinez de Irujo along with Barry Captstick representing Driving, Jeannette Krahenbuhl from the sport of Reining, Megan Banjamin on behalf of Vaulting and Mercedes Tapia from Endurance but with 15 gold medals under his own belt he has long been No. 1 in his own sport of Para-Dressage. And, after all, this is a man who at the age of six was carried up the staircase of No. 10 Downing Street by none other than the Iron Lady herself, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, back in 1980. By then he had already undergone 15 operations to help correct the bent and twisted limbs which resulted from being born with a condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. He was receiving a Children of Courage Award that day, and it was to be just one of many accolades that would be showered upon him in subsequent years.
Lee has won six Olympic medals - three at Sydney in 2000 and three in Athens in 2004 - but for many of his fans the moment that defines him as a person is when he slid off Blue Circle Boy, grabbed his crutches, and presented his victory bouquet to French youngster Valerie Salles whose horse had collapsed and died as she entered the ring to compete. Right now he is on the hunt for a replacement to “Gus” as his Olympic ride Blue Circle Boy is known at home. At just 13 years of age the golden dun with four white sox is not as sound as he used to be “and I want him to finish at the top - he owes me nothing” Lee explains. The only para-equestrian to have won a title at the British Dressage National Championships when competing against able-bodied competitors in 2003, Lee is currently eyeing up the World Championships at Hartpury College in England in six weeks time and has three possible mounts lined up at his yard from where he also trains riders, breaks horses and generally confounds all the prejudices and presumptions surrounding people with perceived disability. Longer-term, he would like to compete internationally against able-bodied riders and he has London 2012 already in his sights…..
The establishment of an Athletes’ Committee was part of FEI President Princess Haya’s manifesto and Lee sees his chairmanship as “a big role with a lot of responsibility”. So how does he think he will handle it? “Well Princess Haya herself has been inspirational for me. She’s doing an amazing job and she’s about the same age as myself so if she can do it, then so can I!” he says with a mixture of amusement and determination in his voice. And what will be the function of the Committee? “It is a non-technical committee, so there is no point in representatives bringing issues just relating to their own sport to the table. We will look at issues that are shared by competitors in all equestrian sports and it will be my job to ensure that we keep to that agenda. I’ll make sure that the quiet people have their say along with everyone else and that the members realise that they represent their disciplines rather than themselves as individuals” he explains.
And why does this man, a self-confessed “nutter for speed” who includes jet-skiing, quad biking and night-clubbing amongst his recreational pursuits think he was chosen for this important new position? “I think it’s because I am an honest, straight-forward kind of guy. Princess Haya has gone a long way towards introducing transparency into equestrian sport and I see this Committee as an extension of that - promoting fairness and equality for everyone, no matter which sport they compete at” Lee concludes.
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