Sophie Wells

Sophie started riding at the age of eight at her local riding school and took up able-bodied dressage at the age of twelve. In 2008 she became the first para dressage rider to win a non-disabled international competition, after she finished first in the junior international class at the Hickstead Under-21 international.

She was the first para dressage rider to compete on both an able-bodied Junior team and the para dressage team in the same year (2010), competing on the dressage Young Rider European team, as well as being selected as part of the World Equestrian Games para dressage squad.

Sophie was selected for her first Paralympic Games in London 2012 where she won team gold along with silvers in the individual and freestyle competitions. She was also picked for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio where she took individual gold and freestyle silver and helped the team defend their team gold. Sophie received an MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours list for her achievements in para-dressage.

In 2017, Sophie helped the team to a seventh consecutive European team title and took freestyle gold and individual silver. This was followed by triple gold at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018 with C Fatal Attraction, then the pair achieved triple silver in Rotterdam at the 2019 European Championships. 

Sophie and Don Cara M travelled to Tokyo for the 2020 paralympic games where they succeeded in helping the team gain a gold medal as well as gaining an individual silver medal. The pair joined the squad again in Herning for the 2022 Word Championships, missing out on a team medal but managing to qualify for the 2024 paralympic games. The combination gained an individual silver with a score of 75.279% and freestyle bronze with a score of 79.255%.