Sophie Wells
Sophie Wells MBE is a three-time Paralympic team gold medallist and one of the most technically refined Para-dressage riders in the world. Born in 1990 with amniotic band syndrome affecting both her hands and right foot, she came to riding through able-bodied British Dressage rather than the Para pathway — a detail that informs the precision of her seat and the finish of her Grand Prix work.
Carl Hester and the Grade V classification
Wells rides in Grade V, the least-impaired para-dressage category, where tests approach senior Grand Prix in complexity. She trained for years under Carl Hester out of his Gloucestershire yard, which produced fellow Olympians Charlotte Dujardin and Laura Tomlinson. The technical overlap between British able-bodied and Para-dressage production has been a key factor in Team GBR’s sustained Paralympic dominance, and Wells has been a symbol of that continuity.
Three consecutive Paralympic team golds
Wells contributed to Paralympic team gold at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 — a hat-trick that makes Team GBR’s Paralympic dressage team the most consistently successful in modern Olympic / Paralympic history. She added an individual silver at London 2012 aboard Pinocchio and has collected multiple team and individual medals at every World Equestrian Games cycle since 2010.
Championship Record
- Paralympic Games: Team gold (2012, 2016, 2020), Individual silver (2012)
- World Championships: Multi-time team and individual medallist
- European Championships: Multi-time team champion, individual medallist
The horses
- Pinocchio — London 2012 team gold, individual silver
- C Fatal Attraction — Rio 2016 campaigner
- Don Cara M — Tokyo 2020 partner
Wells was appointed MBE for services to equestrian sport. She competes out of a Lincolnshire yard and is an active mentor in the World Class Programme Para-Equestrian pathway.