Heidemarie Dresing

Started: She began horse riding as a child and took up Para dressage after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 52. (pferde.de, 11 Dec 2023; reiterrevue.de, 22 Aug 2019) Reason: Her grandmother introduced her to riding as a child. "I was eight years old when I [first] sat on a pony. When we got home, I told my father that I really wanted to learn how to ride. So I started as a school horse rider and was then promoted by my riding instructor. [Following her multiple sclerosis diagnosis] Hannelore Brenner contacted me - the most successful German Para dressage rider of all time. That's how I first knew that Para dressage even existed. But I struggled for a really long time to inform myself further, because I had always imagined riders with disabilities differently." (pferde.de, 11 Dec 2023; trotz-ms.de, 09 Mar 2022; reiterrevue.de, 22 Aug 2019) Ambition: To compete at the 2024, 2028 and 2032 editions of the Paralympic Games. (pferde.de, 11 Dec 2023) Awards: In 2023 she received the Golden Riding Badge from the German Equestrian Olympic Committee [DOKR] for her performance at the 2023 European Championships in Riesenbeck, Germany. (pferd-aktuell.de, 26 Nov 2023) Additional Info: ROAD TO TOKYO She made her Paralympic debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo at age 66. "When I rode at my first international tournament a few years ago, the team boss asked me about my goals. My answer was, 'I've already thought very carefully about this - Tokyo!' Not only did I believe in this wish but I was convinced of it. Of course, I had a few concerns before my participation. I asked myself, 'Can you do it? How bad is it with the heat? Can you still do that?' I used to be able to operate at that temperature [before her impairment]. That never bothered me, but I didn't know what it would be like with my MS [multiple sclerosis]. The heat on site - 45 degrees - bothered me when we were in the midday heat in the stadium. That was fierce." (trotz-ms.de, 09 Mar 2022)