The competition was hot this weekend, even if the weather wasn't - with every grade wanting their own win plus there was the all important team standings!

This competition would also decide who was getting a team through for the Paralympics in 2008.

The final standings saw Britain win the Team Gold with the team of Anne Dunham (1a), Lee Pearson (1b), Simon Laurens (III) and Michelle Crunkhorn (IV). The Brits finished well ahead of the field with Lee Pearson as the highest pointed rider for the Championships, taking 2 Individual Golds as well as the Team Gold.

Simon Laurens, riding Ocean Diamond - pictured above and left - in the Grade III section suffers with MS. Simon began riding with Para Equestrian in 2005 from his home in Jersey but recently moved to Gloucester as the traveling for coaching was becoming too much for him.

Simon nearly lost his beautiful horse to Princess Haya when the two fell in love with each other!

On her arrival at the venue, the Princess visited the stables and in Simon's words "my horse all but mugged her! I was so embarrassed until the Princess explained she had polos in her pocket".

During the presentation of the Freestyle medals the obvious affection Princess Haya had for the horse was so obvious to see especially witht he time spent chatting while Ocean Diamond took all the extra cuddles on offer.

Angelika Trabert - pictured right - , the Para Riders representative is an amazing rider regardless of her disability but she is even more amazing when you learn that Angelika was born with no legs and with three fingers missing from her right hand.

Angelika is quoted "I can't dance on my feet but I can do ballet with my horse" and that is exactly what she does.

Angelika, a qualified anaesthetist practices in a university hospital in Germany, as well as finding time to work horses, snow ski as well as holding a German Teaching licence and having a large student book.

Angelika holds 8 silver medals and one gold medal after participation to date in three Paralympics, three World Championships and one European Championships.

Another amazing member of the German team is Bettina Eistel who was born in 1961 without arms as a result of the pregnancy drug "thalidomide" which was responsible for an estimated 10,000 babies affected by the drug.

Bettina is a woman who does not understand the concept of "can't be done" and at age six she discovered the world of horses and she went on to become the most successful German dressage rider at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.

Bettina has written a book about her life and the challenges she has faced throughout her life to date and is highly public about the thalidomide scandal which is still highly relevant as the relevant EU bodies are already considering a renewed approval of thalidomide for Europe.

Bettina says she does not "feel handicapped, I just function differently".

Bettina - pictured left and below - is a quirky woman with the smile never far from her face.

Bettina rides the gorgeous Fabuleux 5 in a double bridle which she controls with her mouth and feet. And incredibly dextrous feet she has as Bettina also carries the whip in her toes.

Riding in Grade III means that Bettina has to show free walk, but she has no difficulty doing this - dropping the rein - pictured below - is a matter of losing the reins from her mouth.

The preparation to take up the rein and continue the test is something Bettina does not see as anything other than what is "done in dressage" as she leans to the horses neck and collects the rein back into her mouth.