Great Britain took three Para- Equestrian Golds while Germany took one in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the Shatin Equestrian Venue on Tuesday night.

Great Britain took three Golds -- Individual Championship Grade Ia, Individual Championship Grade Ib and Overall Team Championship, while Germany won Individual Championship Grade III.

Thirteen Grade Ia athletes, the most severely disabled, displayed their Dressage skills to get the best from their horses, but Great Britain's rider Dunham Ann gave the best show with her horse TEDDY winning the Gold medal with a top score of 73.1 percentage points.

Ann's teammate Christiansen Sophie, riding LAMBRUSCO III, took a silver on 72.8 points while Singapore rider Tan Laurentia with her horse NOTHING TO LOSE secured third place on 68.8 points.

"I am absolutely thrilled. I can't believe. My horse (TEDDY) is such a good boy. He quite liked the audience and he likes to show off. He did the best he could. He wasn't distracted and didn't misbehave. I enjoyed the test", said Ann.

There was, however, an Asian delight to the evening when the Singapore girl had a surprisingly good ride and took a Bronze medal in the Grade Ia competition. She said she was "very excited and honored to be in my first Paralympics."

"I am very happy and I feel good as the sport gives me passion and it is part of my physiotherapy," Tan added.

In the Grade III contest, 12 riders took to the field for walk, trot and canter tests. German rider Brenner Hannelore took the gold, with Lykke Dalskova of Denmark in silver-medal position and Eistel Bettina of Germany taking the bronze.

Hannelore showed how well she controlled her horse, WOMEN OF THE WORLD, in the walk, trot and canter movements to take a comfortable lead of 71.44 points, just enough to stave off the 71. 04 points of Dalskova.

Silver medalist Dalskova said she was satisfied with the performance of her horse ALFARVAD APRIL Z Tuesday night, saying " He was much better than he was on Sunday (in the team test). He did not get spooked and he rode well. He was splendid. I also kept myself very focused."

Bronze medalist Bettina said after the competition that "I am full of happiness. It's very, very important for me, because I've only had this horse (FABULEUX 5) for two years and I was worried that we wouldn't have the harmony. I'm so proud of him. He had ' shipping sickness' and I'm so happy that he's healthy again."

In the final competition of the day, 15 Grade Ib competitors showed the spectators how well they could combine with their horses in Dressage movements.

Pearson Lee of Great Britain took the gold with a score of 73. 238. Silver went to Dokkan Jeans of Norway who scored 68.857 and Alves Marcos of Brazil claimed bronze with 67.714 points.

"I hope this will change my life and show that I am not a ' flash in the pan'. So bring on Paralympics 2012. I hope that my success will inspire other people", said Lee.

In the Overall Team competition, Great Britain ranked first on 439.608 points. Germany went second on 413.532 points while Norway placed third on 404.343 points.

Dressage is the only Equestrian discipline that is included in the Paralympic Games. Dressage is often called "equestrian ballet". The horse is required to perform set movements, or freestyle to music, demonstrating close partnership with its rider. The scores are evaluated by a panel of judges based on the precision and elegance of the movements.

Altogether, 73 riders from 28 countries and regions are competing in the five-day Equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Hong Kong from September 9 to 11.

(Xinhua News Agency September 10, 2008)