Partnering his castaneous gelding, oldest rider in the Beijing Paralympic equestrian Sandy Mitchell, showed up in the Sha Tin arena in Hong Kong Tuesday.
Mitchell, 64, made his first appearance in the Games Tuesday evening competing with 12 other Grade Ia contenders for medals at the Individual Champion Test.
Together with his 16-year-old horse, the veteran rider Highland Fling, presented walk and trot movements in front of some 4,000 spectators.
"I made a few mistakes, but I think I managed to do well," said the dressage rider representing Bermuda who finished the course with a score of 56.60, ranking No. 10.
Born in Scotland with cerebral palsy, Mitchell started riding since childhood but said he did not take the sport seriously until 15 years ago.
After participating in the Atlanta Games as a spectator supporting Bermuda's first equestrian team to compete in the Paralympics, Mitchell decided he could become a competitive Dressage rider too.
Soon after, he began training and before long was taking part in local international competitions. His ability was recognized by being selected to compete for Bermuda in the Sydney 2000 Games.