Anne Patricia Dunham OBE (born 24 September 1948) 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 dr ...

who has competed in the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

Early life and disability

Whilst at school Dunham worked at a local stable in her spare time and, by the age of 16, she was running a yard of 80 horses at weekends. She has said that she "always wanted to compete" but whilst she was able to ride the horses in the stables their owners competed with them. Dunham was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 27 and has used a wheelchair since the age of 30. At the age of forty, when her husband sold his business, she bought a horse and began to compete.

Paralympic career

Dunham first competed at the Paralympics competing on Doodlebug in dressage events at the 1996 Atlanta Games where she won a bronze medal in the individual mixed Kur trot grade II, and gold in the open team event. In the individual mixed dressage grade II she finished just outside the medals in fourth position. 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 ...

, in Sydney, Dunham was part of the team that successfully defended their title in the open team dressage event. In the individual events at the games she finished fifth both in the mixed dressage - championship grade II and mixed dressage - freestyle grade II. The

2004 Athens Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

were Dunham's third Paralympic appearance. As part of a team with Lee Pearson,

Debbie Criddle Deborah Criddle MBE (born 10 May 1966) is a British para-equestrian who won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and three medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Personal life Criddle was born on 10 May 1966 in Taunton, ...

and

Nicola Tustain 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 Britis ...

she won her third consecutive gold medal in the team dressage. Competing in the grade I freestyle and championship individual events she finished fifth and sixth respectively with fellow Briton Pearson winning gold in both. Dunham went to her fourth Paralympics in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

. The dressage events were not held in the host city

Beijing } 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 ...

but instead took place at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. Dunham at the age of 59, competing on her horse Teddy Edwards, won her first individual Paralympic gold medal in the championship test grade Ia and also won silver in the freestyle test grade Ia. In the team open Dunham, with teammates Lee Pearson,

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.Simon Laurens Simon Laurens (born 28 November 1967 in Saint Brélade, Jersey) is a British Para-equestrian who competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, held in Beijing, China. Sports career He started riding at the age of eight and competed in gymkha ...

won the gold medal. This meant that Dunham has won a gold medal in this event at four consecutive Games.

Honours

In the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

, Dunham 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 ...

(MBE) for services to disabled sport. She was appointed

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are 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 were awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...

for services to para-equestrianism.

References

External links

Early life and disability

Paralympic career

Honours

See also

References

External links