South African rider Johnson Philippa won Individual Championship Grade IV gold medal in Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the Shatin Equestrian Venue in Hong Kong.[Xinhua]

South African rider Johnson Philippa won Individual Championship Grade IV gold medal in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the Shatin Equestrian Venue in Hong Kong on Monday night.

Philippa finished first on 69.290 percentage points, holding off a strong challenge from Norwegian athlete Lubbe Ann Cathrin, the gold medallist in the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. Cathrin took a silver on 68.516 points while Australian rider Bruce Georgia secured third place on 68.258 points.

"I enjoyed the canter so much that I forgot I was supposed to trot," Philippa told reporters after the competition. On her horse Benedict's performance, Philippa said, "he was mind-blowing tonight. He gave me his full attention and both of us were more settled."

On the upcoming Freestyle on Wednesday, Philippa said, "Guys, hold onto your hats. That's my favourite. I love to dance, and he (her horse) loves to dance."

Meanwhile, Cathrin said her horse Zanko was "very clever, fresh and he did what I asked of him. We both did our job better than yesterday." On preparations for the Freestyle, she said, "I will walk him tomorrow (Tuesday). I will do the same thing to keep him fresh and happy. I don't care about the medals as long as my horse and I are happy."

For her part, Bruce said, "I was very happy with my horse (V Salute) tonight. He took the pressure off the atmosphere. Bearing in mind that I've only ridden him for four weeks I did well considering that the other riders have known their horses for years."

Johnson is South African leading rider who won two silver medals at Athens 2004 - in the Individual championship and in Individual Freestyle. She also took home a silver and a bronze from the World Para-Equestrian Dressage Championships in Hartpury, England, 2007.

South African riders have made sporting history for their country, forming its first equestrian team to take part in the Paralympics which opened Sunday at Shatin Equestrian arena.

"This is the first time that South Africa has sent an equestrian team to the Paralympics. This team is making South African history," said Philippa.

Dressage is the only Equestrian discipline included in the Paralympic Games.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2008)