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 ...
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
.
Personal life
Criddle was born on 10 May 1966 in
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, Somerset, England. She lost the use of her right arm and right leg following a motorcycle accident in 1985, eventually having the arm amputated in 2003. As a result, she competes in the grade III Paralympic classification.
Equestrianism
Criddle first competed at the Paralympics at the 2000 Games held in Sydney, where she finished eighth in the individual grade III event and fourth in the freestyle grade III. She won individual, freestyle and team gold medals at both the 2001 European Championships and the 2003 World Championships. At the
in Athens, Greece, she won three gold medals. Riding the Nina Venables owned horse Figaro IX she won the individual and freestyle grade III events and was a part of Great Britain's victorious squad in the team championship. This made her and Figaro the first horse and rider combination to have won triple gold at consecutive European, World and Paralympic Games. 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 f ...
in Beijing, China, she was selected to compete as an individual rider and she finished fifth in the individual and fourth in the freestyle.
She was selected as part of the dressage squad for
Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
in London, United Kingdom. Riding LJT Akilles she won a silver medal in the grade III individual event with a score of 71.267%, finishing behind Germany's gold medallist Hannalore Brenner who scored 73.467%, despite having to ask the judges for directions. Criddle's result helped to secure a gold medal for the British squad, which also included
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.Lee Pearson and
Sophie Wells
Sophie Wells (born 5 May 1990) is a British para-equestrian who won three medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, and 2 Golds and 1 Silver at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, and most recently Team Gold & Individual Silver at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic ...
, in the team championship. She won her third medal of the 2012 Paralympics, a silver, in the freestyle grade III, on 4 September.
Criddle was appointed
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 ...
(MBE) in the
2013 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...
for services to equestrianism. Cabinet Office
See also
*
2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes
To commemorate British gold medal winners at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, various post boxes in the home towns of the medal winners around the United Kingdom, plus one each on Sark and the Isle of Man, were repainted gol ...