Para-dressage rider's 'dream come true' event

A para-dressage rider says competing internationally at one of the world's biggest equestrian events was like a "dream come true".

Sara Bates, 55, from Alcester in Warwickshire will be riding horse Tango at the CHI Al Shaqab competition in Doha, Qatar.

She began as a para-athlete after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012.

With the first event to take place on Thursday, the rider says she's "on cloud nine".

A rider from a very early age, she said the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis began with numbness in her legs.

"I tried to ignore it," she added.

"Just ploughed on and kept ploughing on, it took five years for me to admit there was something wrong and that's when I started down the para-dressage route."

And, so far, its been a successful route, with Bates currently ranked 13th in the world in her classification.

But reaching the level of international competition had not been easy, she explained.

"I train every day," she added.

"My horses have to be trained and they have to get used to how I ride, and they have to get used to me who has an occasional spasm through the leg or through the hand or through the body," she said.

"And they have to just keep going and catch me if I wobble to the side. They are very good... they do look after me."

The pair will compete in a team event before taking part in the grand prix individual test, and a freestyle competition where they will perform to music from the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"Its so exciting, I still can't believe its real," she said.

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