Paralympics 2008

Our accreditation may have changed to blue, the army of volunteers is significantly smaller and we seem to be the only TV crew in town BUT the buzz around the stables is the same as it was at the Olympics.

Here the best para dressage riders in the world have gathered for the biggest para dressage show on earth.

It's great to be back amongst equestrian folk, chatting about Hanoverians and halts; tack to tests and lots of chitter chatter about who'll bag the medals.

I've spent the last two days virtually stalking the British team. They have generously allowed us to film their training sessions and on Wednesday we took Lee Pearson and Ricky Balshaw down to the waterfront in Kowloon for a tour on camera.

It was one of the best days filming I've had. Lee and Ricky are great company and needless to say Lee was his usual entertaining self. He is also looking hot stuff in the arena.

Last night we watched the whole team practice their tests in the stadium under floodlights with the full GB kit on (including plaits) and Lee's test was particularly impressive.

He has long made it known that his horse Gentleman is new to competing at the top level and the pair have had their ups and downs. On Wednesday morning Lee described them as being on the brink of "divorce proceedings" but later that night they looked magical.

Gentleman is a good-looking horse and if they perform like that on the day they'll be hard to beat.

It's also been great to get to know the riders. Simon Laurens has some hilarious stories about his superstitions including his hatred of the number three which is unfortunate since he's a Grade 3 rider and therefore every competition number starts with that number for him.

He has had hypnosis to help him with it so fingers crossed it worked!

Debbie Criddle told me about her music choice for the Kur - expect some Wet, Wet, Wet!

I also finally had time to chat with Anne Dunham who is looking super-relaxed as always on Teddy. This is her fourth Paralympics. She's won team gold at every one and sounds as determined as ever to do the same here.

Like every Paralympian I've met, Anne talked openly about her disability. She has multiple sclerosis and over the years has had to move down the grades in para dressage.

It sounds patronising to talk about bravery and I know none of the riders want sympathy but I have to say I find it inspiring hearing their stories of how they got to this level. Every one of the 72 riders from the 28 nations competing in para dressage here has a story of courage and how they overcame adversity.

They love this sport and they love their horses. Riding gives them the freedom to be just like everyone else. As Ricky Balshaw told me about his horse George: "He lends me his legs and we can take on the world."

So to the action and I'm really looking forward to the start on Sunday morning. Like the Olympics, the para dressage is split into morning and evening sessions. It's hard to know which will be best for our riders as the temperature and humidity doesn't drop much in the evening.

I do, however, think it's slightly cooler now than when I arrived at the beginning of August. Apparently the humidity will drop dramatically as September wears on but it'll no doubt be too late for us.