Simon Laurens (born 28 November 1967 in
Saint Brélade
St. Brelade (French: ''Saint Brélade'') is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is around west of St Helier. Its population was 10,568 as of 2011.
The parish is the second-largest parish by surface area, covering 7 ...
,
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
)
is a British
Para-equestrian
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events: One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dres ...
who competed at the
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...
, held in
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China.
Sports career
He started riding at the age of eight and competed in
gymkhana
Gymkhana () ( ur, جِمخانہ, sd, جمخانه, hi, जिमख़ाना, as, জিমখানা, bn, জিমখানা) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to den ...
and
show jumping with his
palomino
Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called t ...
Champagne, before taking up dressage whilst working with Gemma Green for nine years at her yard in Jersey. Laurens was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
in 2004.
Within two years he began competing for the Great Britain para
dressage team. He won the National Grade III Disabled Dressage title in 2006 and 2007 and also won both team and individual freestyle golds at the 2007 World Para Championships.
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
quartet for the overall team championship. Competing on his horse ''Ocean Diamond'' he won the silver medal in the individual event behind Hannelore Brenner
Hannelore Brenner (born 21 June 1963) is a German Paralympian dressage equestrian athlete.
Life
Brenner was born in Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümbo ...
of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.[ In the team open Laurens, with teammates Lee Pearson, ]Anne Dunham
Anne Patricia Dunham Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 24 September 1948) is a British Para-equestrian who has competed in the Paralympic Games.
Early life and disability
Whilst at school Dunham worked at a local stable in her spare time a ...
and Sophie Christiansen
Sophie Margaret Christiansen, CBE (born 14 November 1987) is an English equestrian who has competed in four successive Paralympic Games. In 2012 and 2016 she gained three gold medals at the Paralympics.[BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...]
...
South West Disabled Sports Personality of the year for 2008.
In 2009 Laurens won three medals at the European Championships held in
, and was one six people whose efforts were recognised with the award of a medal of honour for "activities connected with international endeavour in relation to equestrian sport".