Anne Dunham

Winner of six gold medals across five Games, the Paralympic dressage rider was a 'fearless warrior'

- Patrick Kidd

When Anne Dunham was told she had not been selected to compete for Great Britain at her home Paralympics in 2012, having won gold medals in equestrianism at the previous four, one of her first thoughts was for her horse. "I have told Teddy he is still a star," she said.

Dunham, then 63, and Teddy Edwards, a Welsh cob, had dominated para dressage, winning team gold and individual gold and silver at the 2008 Paralympics, team gold and individual silver at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and two golds at the 2011 European Championships.

The last led her to be Sunday Times Disabled Sportswoman of the Year, ahead of perhaps the more famous shortlisted names of Sarah Storey, Ellie Simmonds and Hannah Cockroft. Her score of 79.2% in the Grade 1a freestyle event at the European Championships, the classification for the most severely disabled riders, was the highest individual score and helped the four-member GB team to set a record overall total.

Dunham had been competing on Teddy for five years by then and described their relationship: "We get inside each other's heads," she said. "He is so naughty sometimes. But whenever we go to competitions, he thinks, 'I will be a good boy this time' and just does his job. He has grown from strength to strength."