Michèle George is a Paralympic equestrian from Belgium. She lives near the French border in Amougies, where she has a private training center. George started riding when she was 12 years old. She started on racehorses and trotting, before trying out show jumping and later dressage, where she competes today.

A horse-riding accident in 2008 caused her to have hemiplegia in her left leg. She was lunging a horse in an indoor arena, the horse spooked, bolted and escaped. In doing so, it took Michele with her and severely broke her knee. After a succession of operations, doctors told Michele that she would never ride again.

But that didn’t keep her down. Four years after that incident, Michele competed and won two gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. Even amidst serious health issues and confined to a wheelchair, her love of horses and passion for dressage was too much to keep her out of competition.