ATHENS, September 20 - The riders taking part in the Paralympic Games had the opportunity to test the Dressage arena today, under real competition conditions. The warm-up session took place at the Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre and was a successful dress rehearsal for all parties involved.

However, not all riders went out to the arena today: a lot of them chose to remain out of the warm-up phase in order to allow themselves and their horses to rest until the real competition begins tomorrow morning.

The marks judges gave the riders only a sample of what will follow in the next days. The key-point on which victory lies is the closest-to-perfect cooperation between the rider and horse.

Today saw a slew of great performances. The winner in Grade I was the defending world champion Lynn SEIDEMANN (USA) with 73.54%; First place in Grade II went to German Hannelore BRENNER with 74.5%; Her compatriot Bettina EISTEL with 74.51% was declared the winner of Grade III; Ann Cathrin LUBBE (NOR) came first with 73.7% in Grade IV.

The host country is represented in Equestrian by only one rider, Nikolaos SIGKAS, who takes part in Grade III. The Greek rider gathered a total of 59.80% in his first Paralympic Games experience.

At 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, action begins with the Individual Championship finals at the Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre. The riders competing in Grade I will compete first, followed by the Grade III athletes.
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For more information, go to www.athens2004.com, the official website of the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games –XII Paralympic Games