Nicola Tustain (born 27 December 1977) is a retired Welsh Paralympic dressage rider. During her career, Tustain won multiple para-dressage medals at the World Championships and Paralympic Games. She was named a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 2010.

Early life and education

Tustain was born on 27 December 1977 in

Corwen Corwen is a town and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. Historically, Corwen is part of the county of Merionethshire. Corwen stands on the banks of the River Dee beneath the Berwyn mountains. The town is situated west of Llango ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. She was born with hemiplegia that paralyzed her right side. She began riding competitively when she was ten years old and participated in a

Riding for the Disabled Association The Riding for the Disabled Association, also known as the RDA is a United Kingdom based charity founded in 1969 focused on providing therapeutic horse-riding, equestrian vaulting and carriage driving lessons to people with developmental and phys ...

championship when she was twelve. Tustain joined the British equestrian team in 1993. In 1996, she completed a certificate in healthcare at

Yale College, Wrexham Yale College, Wrexham (''Coleg Iâl'') is now part of Coleg Cambria. Formerly a further education college situated in Wrexham, North Wales, Yale College, Wrexham merged with Deeside College in August 2013 to create Coleg Cambria, the college f ...

Career

Tustain won her first para-dressage medals at the 1999 World Championships with three gold medals. While competing in the World Championships, Tustain won an additional three gold medals at the 2003 World Championships and a gold and a silver at the 2007 World Para Dressage Championships. Alternatively, Tustain won six Paralympic medals in dressage. At the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

, Tustain won a gold medal in the team and freestyle events with a bronze in the individual event. At the following Paralympics, she won a gold in the team event while winning a bronze in the individual and freestyle events at the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympi ...

. Other medals include two gold and one bronze at the 2005 European Championships and multiple British Dressage Championships. She retired in 2009.

Awards and honours

In 2000, Tustain was awarded the

British Equestrian Federation British Equestrian (previously The British Equestrian Federation) founded 1972 is the national governing body of equestrian sport in Great Britain and represents the country at the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). Her Maje ...

Medal of Honour. In 2003, she was named the best dressage rider by

Animal Health Trust The Animal Health Trust (AHT) was a large national independent charity in the United Kingdom, employing over 200 scientists, vets and support workers. Its objectives were to study and to cure diseases in companion animals (horses, dogs and cats ...

. The following year, Tustain was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability in 2004 but lost to Earle Connor. In 2010, Tustain was named a

at the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tustain, Nicola 1977 births Living people British female equestrians British dressage riders Paralympic equestrians for Great Britain Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Paralympic medalists in equestrian Equestrians at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Welsh Paralympic competitors Members of the Order of the British Empire