Even as the citizen of the hosting city, few Hong Kong people paid attention to the 2008 Paralympics' equestrian events. Not until Nelson Yip Siu-hong became the first Hong Kong equestrian ever to compete at the games.

The 40-year-old equestrian has suffered from cerebral palsy, a paralysis caused by brain damage, since catching a fever at the age of one. The disease affected his motor skill development and he lost the ability to control his lower limb muscles.

Yip spent his childhood in and out of hospitals for medical treatments, but these didn't regain the full use of his legs. Then, he had to use a pair of walking sticks to get around.

Not until he learned horse riding when he was eight did he feel able to move freely.

“Riding was something special. It gave me a sense of freedom,” the equestrian said.

Though he only had taken several riding sessions, the feeling of moving freely on a horse was impressive to little Yip, which spurred him to a foray of achievement two decades later.

After his first taste of horse riding, Yip gave it up for the sake of study and pursuing a career. His earliest academic achievement was his admission to the Chinese University of Hong Kong, majoring in Statistics and Computer Science.

Just like all other college freshmen, he had to adapt to a new learning style, which was very different from primary and secondary school. In addition to spending time studying, traveling around the big and hilly campus has wasted him a lot of time.

“There was too little time between classes. Usually I missed the school shuttle bus. I was always late to class. I couldn't even finish one single lecture,” Yip said.

This greatly affected Yip's performance. His Grade Point Average (GPA) for that year was 1.79, which was barely a pass mark. Afterwards, he decided to figure out a way to get around the campus so his studies would not suffer.

“I got smarter in choosing courses. No more faraway classrooms,” the fast-learner said.

In his third year, he excelled in his studies and was offered a scholarship which he used to buy a second-hand car to help him travel around the campus. With his extra effort on study, he finally graduated with First Class of Honors.

He later obtained a Master's degree in Quantitative Analysis from the City University of Hong Kong and a MBA from the Chinese University. He then established three companies in which two of them manufacture products for industrial use and a consultancy for holding companies events.

“We, disabled people, are no different from normal people,” Yip said. “We have goals to achieve and we contribute to the society. But it is hard to eliminate others' discrimination.”

He showed his ability to live like a normal person through his achievement in studies and work. To further prove himself and motivate other disabled persons, he resumed horse riding and started a campaign to promote the benefits of the sport in 2001.

“People think disabled people can't do sports. It's just a social stereotype about disabled people. I wanted to change the stereotype,” Yip said.

With only two years of training, Yip won the Japan Asia Pacific Dressage Championships held in Kyoto, Japan in 2003. Two years later, he was qualified for the 2008 Paralympics Games in the International Para-Dressage Competition held in Vancouver, Canada, which he saw as a turning point in his life.

Yip received enthusiastic applause from the audience at the equestrian arena in this September for his debut with Icy Bet at the Games.

Icy Bet, a 20-year-old retired racehorse, is Yip's long-time partner in horse riding. Yip finds the horse unique with many qualities different from other horses.

“Icy Bet is special,” Yip said. “He began the equestrian sport when he was a racehorse, and then switched to eventing and jumping. Now, he is already 20 and doing dressage!”

Twenty years for a horse is equivalent to more than 70 years in human age. A horse of this age is extremely old for world-class competition. Yip once planned to buy a new horse for the Games earlier this year.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club was also willing to sponsor him in buying a horse. However, Yip eventually gave up the idea.

“How many horses can switch to all these different equestrian events? Not many!” Yip stressed. “In other countries, retired racehorses don't switch to other equestrian sports.”

According to Yip, horses are by nature a skittish kind of animal and easily frightened. However, Icy Bet's kind and generous character was somehow different.

“He's not afraid of the camera or the flash,” Yip said. “When someone rides on him, he will seldom misbehave. This makes it easier for the rider. Icy Bet has a generous personality. He's adorable.”

As Yip has difficulty in controlling his legs, specially designed stirrups were used to fix his lower limbs in position on the horse. He uses a horsewhip and his voice to give Icy Bet instructions.

An obedient horse like Icy Bet is helpful because the equestrian can concentrate more on the environment and react to unpredictable circumstances, Yip added. Thus, he always enjoys partnering with Icy.

Though Yip finds Icy Bet a good partner, the pair finished the Games with an unsatisfactory result, 18th out of 18 contenders in the Individual Championship. Many criticized Icy Bet as being “nervous” and “disappointing”, however, Yip was still pleased with his performance.

“I was totally satisfied with our performance,” Yip smiled. “Considering Icy Bet's age and breed, it wasn't possible that we would win a medal. We knew it at the very beginning. But I did enjoy spending that moment with him.”

Back from the Paralympics Closing Ceremony in Beijing, the equestrian faced a change in role, from a rider to a public figure.

“You won't believe how many schools have sent me invitations,” Yip said. “Lots of media has approached me as well.”

His electronic mailbox has been filled with emails of journalists' interview invitations and schools inviting him to give speeches on his positive life values, as well as promoting sports, especially those for disabled athletes.

Though it will take time for him to take up his new role, Yip is delighted as he has achieved his goal and proved that disabled people are also capable of taking up new challenges.

“Performing your best in the game means earning yourself your own medal,” said the never-say-die equestrian.