Britain's Lee Pearson came into the Beijing 2008 Paralympics unbeaten and tonight, as the Games drew to an emotional close in front of a passionate crowd, he maintained that incredible record, extending his personal Paralympic golden tally to a historic nine.

Three Paralympics, three different horses, three gold medals in each. Not only is he the most successful Paralympic equestrian, he believes he is probably the most successful equestrian ever - and he's probably right!

He's already been made an MBE and an OBE and joked after winning his third gold of the 2008 Games that he's now expecting a letter from the British Prime Minister telling him he's going to be knighted! Whether he ever becomes Sir Lee or not, he'll always be an amazing rider, a man who can barely walk but who looks as though he was born on a horse.

It really was a great Games for the British, with five gold - including the team honours - and five silver in total. Germany's Hannelore Brenner was the only non-Briton to break the British strangehold tonight when lifting gold in the Grade III Freestyle, but there's no doubt that the real winner of the last five days has been the Games themselves.

People wondered if Hong Kong would embrace the Olympic equestrian events and it did. But it embraced the Paralympics with even more passion. These Games were a triumph. A wonderful moment in Hong Kong history that will never be forgotten!

Golden moments from the Beijing 2008 Paralympic equestrian events.
The memories will linger on . . .

Photo 1:
British supporters celebrate three golds on the closing night.

Photos 2:
Hannelore Brenner's team mates fly the German flag in honour of her Grade III Freestyle gold.

Photo 3:
Brazilian delight for Marcos Alves, bronze medalist in Grade Ib.

Photo 4:
Triple gold medalist Lee Pearson shares a joke with team mate and winner of the individual silver, Ricky Balshaw.

Photo 5:
Singapore's Laurentia Tan was a hugely popular winner of two individual bronze medals in Grade Ia.

Photo 6:
Five days, nine sessions, and Britain was the dominant force. Game over . . .

There are people you meet who leave a lasting impression. Bettina Eistel is one of those people. The German Paralympic rider was born without arms, but that hasn't stopped her from being a supremely successful athlete, winning two silver medals and a bronze in Athens 2004 as well as a clatter of other medals at world and European championships.

Gold has eluded her so far, but the 47-year-old has such a wonderfully positive outlook on life and such an incredible relationship with her horses, that the top award must surely come her way soon.

With a weekly show on German TV station ZDF, Bettina is something of a media star at home. And she's become something of media darling here in Hong Kong too, partly because of her bronze medal in the individual Grade III championship, but mostly because of her amazing ability to do everything, literally everything with her feet.

Bettina can put a saddle and bridle onto her horse with her feet, hose a horse down with her feet, write, put on mascara and even text with her feet. ''I learnt to use my toes as a child, like other children learnt to use their hands'', she says, ''and that disability shows ability.'' Regardless of that ability, and regardless of her disability, she's a genuinely lovely human being, so if the gold ends up round Bettina's neck after tonight's Grade III Freestyle, there won't be a single person who'll begrudge her that success.

Photo 1:
Bettina Eistel, who was born without arms due to thalidomide damage, rides with the reins between her teeth and attached to her stirrups, both when she's training and when she's competing.

Photos 2&3:
Taking off a bridle with her feet is no problem, and the saddle is removed in her teeth.

Photo 3:

Photo 4:
Using the hose to wash down her horse is a piece of cake, and apparently Bettina is a serious opponent in a water fight!

Photo 5:
The love and mutual respect between Bettina and her horse Fabuleux is very obvious.

What a night of raw emotion! Lauren Barwick, whose mare Maile was so nearly a non-starter due to travel sickness, produced an electrifying performance to take individual gold in the Grade II Freestyle for Canada tonight and then Philippa Johnson blew everyone away as she and Benedict danced their way to a second individual gold in Grade IV.

With two gold medals up for grabs, the grandstands were full of wildly enthusiastic fans as Sha Tin rocked to the sound of music. And their devotion was rewarded with some supremely brilliant performances as the stars of these Paralympic upped their game to battle it out for gold.

Grade II rider Lauren Barwick, who was paralysed from the waist down at age 18 when a bale of hay fell on her, had already taken silver in the individual championship and was so happy she said she mightn't even start in the Freestyle, she'd leave the medals for others. Luckily she was persuaded to change her mind and made every step count tonight to win her second medal - and this one was gold.

Philippa Johnson picked up double silver in Athens 2004, but this time it was gold all the way in Grade IV, even though her impairment is severe enough to mean she is technically a Grade III rider. It was a historic moment for South Africa. And another golden moment in these incredible Games.

Photo 1:
Philippa Johnson gets a congratulatory hug from her trainer Chris Haazen after winning her second individual gold for South Africa.

Photo 2:
Canada's Lauren Barwick, who celebrates her 31st birthday on Friday, knew she'd done enough for gold in Grade II and was quick to pay tribute to Dr Chris Riggs and his veterinary team for getting her mare Maile back on the road.

Photos 3:
The Canadian team and supporters, led by 10-year-old Ashleigh Elstone, belted out the national anthem to celebrate Lauren Barwick's gold in the Grade II Freestyle.

Photo 4:
Prince Edward, Patron of the British Paralympic Association, presents the gold medal to Canada's Lauren Barwick, whose Freestyle to Asian music was "a way of saying thank you to China for these Paralympic Games".

Photo 5:
Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, just managed to get the gold medal round Philippa Johnson's neck before her horse shot in the opposite direction.

Obviously inspired by last night's bronze medal performance from Singapore's Laurentia Tan, China's Peng Yu Lian and Nelson Yip of Hong Kong both put in personal best performances in this morning's Grade II Freestyle. And Chief Executive Donald Tsang, Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang and York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health were all on hand to support the two riders.

Nelson's test with Icy Bet was a marked improvement on Monday and it was reflected in the mark - how fantastic to see the Hong Kong pair in first place up on the scoreboard, and they stayed there until the fourth rider came out of the arena. Ok they'd slid down the order to seventh by the end of the morning session, but it was a great moment for Hong Kong to see Icy Bet dancing to the music at Nelson's command.

And then Peng Yu Lian, who only started riding in April 2006, played a blinder with the stallion Furstendonner. Despite a mistake at the end when they finished before the music did, the Chinese pair moved into third place to keep Asia right up there at the sharp end.

But there's still another whole session to go tonight before the Grade II and IV medals are decided. Don't go away!

Photo 1:
Nelson Yip's groom Steph Eardley has Icy Bet polished to perfection, including a Hong Kong bauhinia flower on the horse's quarters. And, in the background, the Equestrian Company's Chief of Paralympic Services Amanda Bond casts an approving eye before the Hong Kong pair go into the arena to produce a personal best performance.

Photo 2:
Watching from the VIPs balcony (from left), the Club's Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Executive Director of Corporate Development Kim Mak, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow, Chief Executive Donald Tsang, Club Chairman John C C Chan and Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang.

Photo 3:
Nelson Yip thanks Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges for the support from The Hong Kong Jockey Club that made his Paralympic dream a reality.

Photo 4:
Peng Yu Lian only started work on his Freestyle test yesterday, but the music fitted perfectly with Furstendonner's paces to put the Chinese into third place after the morning session.

Lee Pearson's Paralympic record is unbelievable - in both Sydney and Athens he went through the card, winning three out of three gold medals and, here in Hong Kong, he has already clinched two out of the three golds on offer. He'll be bidding to keep his unbeaten record with success in Thursday's Grade Ib Freestyle and continue that 100% success rate right through to London 2012.

But 34-year-old Pearson has an even bigger goal - he hopes to ride in both the Olympics and Paralympics on home turf in London and his determination and self-confidence could see him realize that dream. "I was born with a talent as well as a disability", he said after winning the Grade Ib individual championship to clinch Britain's fourth Paralympic team gold tonight. "I hope I can inspire other athletes, both disabled and able-bodied."

He is undoubtedly inspirational, as are all these amazing athletes. It's hard to get across the struggle they go through for their sport, but they do it because they love it. Winning medals is just the icing on the cake.

Photo 1:
Britain's Lee Pearson is still unbeaten in Paralympic equestrian, claiming his seventh gold with victory in tonight's Grade Ib championship to clinch his eighth gold as Britain took a fourth consecutive team title - by a distance - from Germany and Norway.

Photo 2:
Multiple sclerosis sufferer Anne Dunham celebrates her 60th birthday in just over two weeks and she earned herself a double present tonight, with a first-ever individual gold in the Grade Ia championship and a fourth team gold for Britain.

Photos 3:
Hannelore Brenner was left partially paralysed in a riding accident when she was just 12, but has since won multiple medals in para-equestrian, including double silver in Athens 2004 before claiming the Grade III championship tonight to lead Germany to team silver.

Photo 4:
Singapore was celebrating tonight after Laurentia Tan won the country's first Paralympic equestrian medal, a bronze in the Grade Ia championship. Laurentia is a cerebral palsy sufferer and is also profoundly deaf.

Photo 5:
Germany's Bettina Eistel was born without arms due to thalidomide damage, but it hasn't stopped her winning medals as a para-equestrian. Riding with the reins between her teeth and her toes, she two silver and one bronze in Athens 2004 and added team silver and individual bronze to her tally tonight.

What do you get if you cross a show jumper with a ballet dancer? A gold medal dressage rider of course!

Philippa Johnson is the perfect mix of equestrian skill and balletic movement. Her father, at the age of 73, is still riding show jumping and is here in Hong Kong grooming for Philippa and her wonderful horse Benedict. And her mother, well she's the ballet dancer and she's given her daughter the ability to get her horses to dance.

I've already written about the car crash in which Philippa lost her brother and her boyfriend, as well as the use of her right arm and leg. And the riding accident in which she broke her back a year later. What I didn't write was that Philippa was due to become a professional dressage rider just two months before the crash, but she's turned her fortunes round and made them golden, claiming the individual Grade IV championship here in Sha Tin tonight - and the crowds just loved it!

Photo 1:
Philippa Johnson and her supporters celebrate gold in the Grade IV individual championship and Philippa is already looking forward to her Freestyle. "Hold onto your hats guys! I love to dance, he loves to dance and we've got an incredible Freestyle!"

Photo 2:
It was so tight at the top, with fractionally over one per cent covering the three medalists, but Norway's Ann Cathrin Lubbe knows she's done enough to win silver with her stallion Zanko.

Photos 3:
Australia's Georgia Bruce has only been riding the giant Victory Salute for a month, but it was enough to claim individual bronze and the traditional bunch of flowers from co-presenter, Club Chairman John C C Chan in his role as vice-president of the Equestrian Committee.

Photo 4:
Eleanore Elstone may not have been a medalist after a disappointing mark for her test with the characterful Friesian stallion Lutke, but 10-year-old daughter Ashleigh knows her mum is a real champion!

Sport isn't all about winning, it's about taking part, about stepping up to the plate and doing your best on the day. Yes, it would have been wonderful if Nelson Yip could have been up there with the Paralympic medalists at Sha Tin this morning, but even though he wasn't, his Hong Kong supporters still adore him and Chief Secretary Henry Tang is part of that fan-base.

The media flocked to interview Nelson after his test with the 20-year-old ex-racehorse Icy Bet, even though a mark of 50.545% left him down the line in 18th. The placing didn't matter to Nelson and it didn't matter to Henry Tang.

''For the Paralympics it's great for riders to overcome their disabilities and enjoy the experience'', the Chief Secretary said to Nelson afterwards, with the electronic and print media thronged in a semi-circle around them. ''Spirit and friendship are much more important than the competition.''

And it's true. The spirit and friendship at these Paralympics is just incredible. Win or lose, the riders are all there to cheer each other on, to celebrate success and commiserate with the disappointed.

But there was no disappointment for Nelson. He was thrilled to be part of the biggest sporting occasion Hong Kong has ever seen. ''I'm very happy'', he said after his test. ''This is the first time for Hong Kong to co-host the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events and the first chance for me to ride in front of my home crowd. It's really special.''

Photo 1:
Nelson Yip and Icy Bet finished 18th in the Grade II championship test, but the thrill of representing Hong Kong at the Paralympics on home ground made today a really special occasion for Nelson and all his fans.

Photo 2:
Chief Secretary Henry Tang commended Nelson Yip on his spirit and for creating a piece of sporting history by being Hong Kong's first-ever Paralympic rider - and on home turf too.

Photos 3:
China's Peng Yu Lian, who lost the use of his legs with infantile paralysis at the age of just one, rode a great test to finish ninth in the Grade II championship, much to the delight of his trainer, Tan Zhi Qin.

Photo 4:
Germany's Britta Naepel (centre) set the early lead with a mark of 71.909% and was never beaten to claim gold ahead of Denmark's 18-year-old C.C. Nielsen left) who took bronze and Canada's Lauren Barwick (right) who claimed the silver medal.

Photo 5:
W.K. Lam, Chief Executive Officer of the Equestrian Company, watches the morning's action with Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang.

There are so many incredible personalities and amazing stories coming out of the Paralympic equestrian events. These are fantastic athletes, who defy the odds and still manage to come out on top - and with smiles on their faces.

Look at Marion Milne, who was shot in the spine in a hijack, but is here, proudly flying the South African flag in Hong Kong. And her team mate, Philippa Johnson, who was critically injured in a car crash almost 10 years ago in which her brother and her boyfriend were killed. They say that lightening never strikes twice in the same place, but a year later, Philippa broke her back falling off a horse.

Partially paralysed on her right side, the 33-year-old has been based in Belgium for the past five years so that she can train with her horse, Benedict (or Mr B to his friends) and says her world revolves around him.

Photo 1:
South Africa's Philippa Johnson and Benedict top the Grade IV category with a superb test, but Philippa - whose father celebrated his 73rd birthday today - promises more to come in the championship test.

Photo 2:
Britain is out in front in the team standings by some distance from the Germans after a great test from multiple-medal winner Lee Pearson with his new horse, the seven-year-old Gentleman, which put him in first place in Grade Ib.

Photos 3:
Italy's Andrea Vigon injured his knee in a fall out in the warm-up arena, but regained his composure to produce a really solid test for third place in Grade Ia.

Photo 4:
Anne Dunham has won team gold at the last three Paralympics, as well as individual bronze in Atlanta. Her first place in Grade Ia has helped keep Britain out in front in the teams and they remain hot favourites to claim a fourth consecutive gold on Tuesday.

The Germans may have been beaten to team gold by the British in Athens, but they have their hearts set on victory here in Hong Kong and have already got off to a flying start. They're topping both the Grade III and Grade II sections and are obviously keen to follow their Olympic compatriots, who took two team and one individual gold last month.

It's hard for spectators to see what disability many of the Paralympic riders suffer, but Germany's Angelika Trabert was born without legs and it was incredible to watch her ride a really lovely test with the eight-year-old chestnut mare, Londria, just using two whips to replace her limbs. Angelika's been riding since she was six, although she says that it was a struggle to start with because so many people didn't want to take the risk of her falling off. But balance is not a problem for her. "I've been like this since I was born, so I don't know any difference", she says.

Now she's topping the Grade II rankings and team-mate Hannelore Brenner is out in front in the Grade III. Partially paralysed in a riding accident when she was 12, Hannelore has been competing in para-equestrian since 1997 and, like Angelika, has a whole hatful of medals from Paralympics and other championships.  

Angelika's trainer Heinrich Braehler gave her a fan before she left for Hong Kong, partly to help beat the heat, but also to remind her of her mission - it's got "Go for Gold" written on it!

Photo 1:
Germany's Angelika Trabert was born without legs, but she's in the lead in the Grade II rankings, obeying her trainer's orders to "Go for Gold!"

Photo 2:
Even the volunteers were cheering for Germany, although these ones had the best reason as they're the German speaking volunteers.

Photos 3:
Angelika's team mate, Hannelore Brenner broke through the 70% barrier to top the Grade III placings. Hannelore had what's called a "friendly horse" standing next to the arena to help her own horse, Women Of The World, relax during the test.

Photo 4:
Yesterday's blog was all about how the Canadians have risen above the drama of having two sick horses and today Lauren Barwick proved that her mare Maile is fully recovered by riding her into second place in this morning's Grade II section.

The Paralympic equestrian events get underway first thing tomorrow morning, but there's been plenty of pre-competition excitement at the Sha Tin venue already.

There were some serious nerves before yesterday morning's horse inspection, particularly in the Canadian camp, as two of their horses had been pretty poorly after a marathon journey to get to Hong Kong.

As it was the first time ever that teams had brought their own horses rather than riding mounts provided by the host nation, the Canadian horses had done a 27-hour truck ride to their pre-export quarantine base in Los Angeles and then, a week later, did another 26-hour trip from LA to Hong Kong, so it wasn't really a surprise when two of them took to their beds on arrival.

Thankfully the equine pair had the spring back in their step for the pre-competition inspection and were given the thumbs-up to compete. Also getting the thumbs-up - but this time from the Canadian delegation - was the Paralympic veterinary team, headed up by Dr Chris Riggs, which had worked so tirelessly to make sure the horses were back on form in time.

Photo 1:
The Friesian stallion Lutke puts his best foot forward to fly through the horse inspection for his groom Bonnie Brown, who is wearing the Canadian team Chinese silk jacket, bought in Hong Kong to replace uniforms that didn't turn up.

Photo 2:
Hong Kong's Paralympic hero Nelson Yip puts Icy Bet through his paces under the watchful eye of trainer Bee Chan, senior riding instructor at Tuen Mun Riding School.

Photos 3 & 4:
China's Peng Yulian is helped by his trainer, Tan Zhiqin, on to his horse, Furstendonner, before a training session in the main Paralympic competition arena

Photo 4

Photos 5 & 6:
There was plenty of work to be done to change the image and look from Olympic to Paralympic mode, including alterations to the cauldron

Photo 6