The five-day equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games concluded on Thursday night at the Shatin Equestrian Venue with 11 sets of gold, silver and bronze medals have been awarded.

A record number of 73 riders from 28 countries and regions displayed their Dressage skills in different grades, which depend on the degree of their impairment or disability. The competition is classified into Grade Ia and Ib and Grades II, III and IV.

Britain dominated the competitions with a total of five golds, five silvers and two bronzes:

Dunham Ann with horse Teddy won Individual Championship Grade Ia gold.

Pearson Lee with horse Gentlemen won Individual Championship Grade Ib gold and Individual Freestyle Grade Ib gold.

Christiansen Sophie with horse Lambrusco III won Individual Freestyle Grade Ia gold.

Britain's Equestrian squad won Overall Team Championship gold.

Germans, also showing their supremacy in horsemanship, won three golds, one silver and two bronzes.

Brenner Hannelore with horse Women of the World won Individual Championship Grade III and Individual Freestyle Grade III.

Naepel Britta with horse Cherubin 15 won Individual Championship Grade II.

South Africa took two golds. Philippa Johnson with Benedict captured two golds -- Individual Championship Grade IV and Individual Freestyle Grade IV.

Canada gained one gold and one silver. Barwick Lauren with Maile won Individual Freestyle Grade II gold.

Norway won three silvers, one bronze. Denmark captured one silver and one bronze. Australia claimed two bronzes while Brazil and Singapore got two bronzes respectively.

In the Equestrian Events at the Shatin venue, an Asian delight to the crowd when Singaporean debutant Tan Laurentia with her horse Nothing to Lose had a surprisingly good ride and took two bronzes in Individual Championship Grade Ia and Individual Freestyle Grade Ia competitions.

It was also the first time that China, and Hong Kong of China sent riders in the Para-Dressage events. Peng Yulian of China and Yip Sui Hong of Hong Kong made Paralympic Games history when they stepped out to compete in the Grade II Individual Championship Test in Dressage.

Peng placed 9th out of 18 riders with 64.545 percentage points while Yip scored 50.545 points to place 18th.

In the Individual Freestyle Grade II, Peng ranked 6th with 66. 279 points while Yip ranked 15th out of 17 participating riders.

During the five-day competitions, Para-Equestrian athletes tried to fulfill their riding goals. Their efforts are guided and shaped by a unique strength and determination. Their strength and ability to overcome hardship becomes a shining flame.

Just like Yip told reporters in an interview "My disability changed my life - it's part of my life and having accepted it, I can try to be the best given my potential and talent".

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.

The Equestrian events of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games was held in Hong Kong on September 7-11.

(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2008)