Lee Pearson - Olympic programme

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CalllyH

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Did anyone see this last night on channel 4? I'm really not sure what to think about him. Watch him ride hes magical, but apart from that I just don't know :confused:

Interesting programme for sure and looks like he has a fab team round him.

Did anyone else see it?:cool:
 
I'm not sure about Lee Pearson tbh, seems a bit arrogant but I love Ricky! He seems so lovely and such a hard worker- has had such bad luck so far, will hopefully see him win gold in Rio :):)
 
Some times I really warm to him, next minute he says something and it he doesn't come across as a pleasant person, his partner even said he was spoilt
 
ebonyallen said:
I have been in contact with him, to see if he could point me in the right direction to move forwards with my riding, and have had no answer. So I am not very impressed as him as a person.
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tgrr I did this with a dressage trainer who did a demo at a show, emailed to say thanks I'd really enjoyed it, it'd inspired me to try a bit of dressage and would they be doing anymore shows/clinics- nothing :rolleyes:
 
Have known Lee (and train with him) for over 6 years. Quite frankly he is a fabulous person but not for the faint hearted... He will certainly tell it his it is. Also know Ricky and he too is great.

As for the comment about his "damehood!!" I think everyone clearly missed the point.... The comment was more to draw attention to the fact that it appears that there is a disproportionate award of this honour between able bodied and disabled athletes. If I direct comparison is made to the achievements of some able bodied athletes who have been awarded this honour and some of the achievements of disabled athletes like Lee it can appear very disproportionate in how this has been awarded.

When you see some able bodied athletes with 4 or 5 Olympic golds getting the honour and then compare to someone disabled like Lee who has 9 golds over 12 years (three olympics) and a 100% success record at that level it does raise the question.... Why???

Oh, and before anyone jumps on the bashing band wagon, please note that my comments above are in no way a suggestion that I am of the view that those able bodied athletes with an honour are any less worthy or do not deserve the status that they have been given, this is not my contention at all. I am merely making the observation that there appears to be a discrepancy in how these are awarded and what constitutes the right level of 'achievement' to justify one.
 
hjw said:
Have known Lee (and train with him) for over 6 years. Quite frankly he is a fabulous person but not for the faint hearted... He will certainly tell it his it is. Also know Ricky and he too is great.

As for the comment about his "damehood!!" I think everyone clearly missed the point.... The comment was more to draw attention to the fact that it appears that there is a disproportionate award of this honour between able bodied and disabled athletes. If I direct comparison is made to the achievements of some able bodied athletes who have been awarded this honour and some of the achievements of disabled athletes like Lee it can appear very disproportionate in how this has been awarded.

When you see some able bodied athletes with 4 or 5 Olympic golds getting the honour and then compare to someone disabled like Lee who has 9 golds over 12 years (three olympics) and a 100% success record at that level it does raise the question.... Why???

Oh, and before anyone jumps on the bashing band wagon, please note that my comments above are in no way a suggestion that I am of the view that those able bodied athletes with an honour are any less worthy or do not deserve the status that they have been given, this is not my contention at all. I am merely making the observation that there appears to be a discrepancy in how these are awarded and what constitutes the right level of 'achievement' to justify one.
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So so glad to hear someone standing up for him, I gave up on a thread in Soapbox after getting nowhere against the bashing he was getting!
 
Whilst I agree he deserves a knighthood there is such a thing as a dignified silence, I don't know him personally but I always thought well of him for his achievements but IMHO he didn't come across very well on that programme and unfortunately it seems I'm not the only one who thought so.
 
I have a great respect for anyone with a talent. Lee CBE clearly has a talent within his level of competition. Talent can go two ways, you can be the type of person to be grateful of your success and those that helped to get you there or you can be arrogant enough to think that it was you and you alone that got you there. I got the feeling that Lee CBE feels that he is entitled, he has had the honour of competing for his country in 3 previous Paralympic games (not Olympics as previously stated earlier in the thread, not to undermine para games but let us not compare against the likes of Carl Hestor, this would not be fair to either) seemed to not be enough recognition. Not many people will ever have the chance at 1 Paralympic games, where as Lee CBE is about to attend number 4!! what an honour! Poor Ricky will not see his chance this year.

What struck me was the lack of team GB spirit from a 9 time Paralympic gold medalist towards his 'team mate' 3 horses to ride and no offer to Ricky or any show of assistance in his quest to gain a horse to take on the honour of competing at such a prestigious competition! He who has everything obviously keeps it by a strict role of not sharing!!

I wish to say that I wish Lee CBE all the best in his quest for gold again this year, just wish a degree of humility could be seen. I would suggest the more humble and the more openly supportive of paralympians of the future may be a better way of gaining the much desired knighthood he so obviously craves.
 
I cannot quite believe all these comments about someone you have never met!!!

I train with Lee and call him a good friend.... he has a wicked sense of humour and may say otherwise.....

Caballos he does not have everything as you put it, he works very hard to remain at the top, he may have a few horses but at the time this programme was made he only had one in contention for selection as his second horse was recovering from injury, this was the one that he fell off to sustain his broken back, so wouldn't have one to lend Ricky plus Lee's horses are possibly not suitable for Ricky's disabilities it is not that simple.

Lee and Ricky are best friends and also extremely competitive with each other as I'm sure you judged from the programme, to accuse Lee of not sharing is ridiculous he shared the holiday with Ricky in the programme did you not watch carefully? Lee is one of the most generous people I know but he doesn't shout about it.

He truly deserves a knighthood and certainly will if he gains his 12th Gold Paralympic medal in 2012.... What's wrong with joking about it he was taking the piss out of himself by suggesting a Damehood if you really knew Lee you would get the joke.....
 
I can't wait to watch him in the Olympics. He's a better rider than il ever be.
Also I wouldn't expect someone who's training for the Olympics to be emailing me back, he's too busy!
 
I didn't see the programme but have always admired Lee's achievements on behalf of his country. Perhaps it must be some measure of the man that posters are debating if he was annoying or not with the disability being irrelevant. Can't wait to see the team in the paralympics go team GB!!!
 
desertstorm said:
I cannot quite believe all these comments about someone you have never met!!!

I train with Lee and call him a good friend.... he has a wicked sense of humour and may say otherwise.....

Caballos he does not have everything as you put it, he works very hard to remain at the top, he may have a few horses but at the time this programme was made he only had one in contention for selection as his second horse was recovering from injury, this was the one that he fell off to sustain his broken back, so wouldn't have one to lend Ricky plus Lee's horses are possibly not suitable for Ricky's disabilities it is not that simple.

Lee and Ricky are best friends and also extremely competitive with each other as I'm sure you judged from the programme, to accuse Lee of not sharing is ridiculous he shared the holiday with Ricky in the programme did you not watch carefully? Lee is one of the most generous people I know but he doesn't shout about it.

He truly deserves a knighthood and certainly will if he gains his 12th Gold Paralympic medal in 2012.... What's wrong with joking about it he was taking the piss out of himself by suggesting a Damehood if you really knew Lee you would get the joke.....
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I am sorry you take offence at us viewers of the programme Lee CBE has chosen to take the time to film with his build up to the Paralympics. We do not know Lee CBE granted but we are entitled to make a judgement by the way he is portrayed, all part of being a celebrity one might say.

As for the comment I made regarding sharing, there was nothing shown in the programme that Lee CBE shared with his team mate, there was a holiday but I am talking sharing as a team mate not a friend.

It is nice to see such passion from you in the defence of your good friend, Lee CBE is lucky to have such support. May I however suggest that if he were as you describe we would not be seeing something so different on screen. As I say I have all support for Lee CBE to do well at the Paralympics, I do not have to like him to support him as a member of team GB. [/B]
 
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SNORKEY said:
I can't wait to watch him in the Olympics. He's a better rider than il ever be.
Also I wouldn't expect someone who's training for the Olympics to be emailing me back, he's too busy!
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I think was directed at my comment, may I just put the record straight that I am not the stupid that I would have emailed him in the lead up to the olympics. This was a couple of years ago !!
 
Caballos please remember that Channel 4 made this programme Lee had no part in editing what they put in it.....

Please go to the Paralympics and support team GB watch Lee ride he's amazing:)
 
desertstorm said:
Caballos please remember that Channel 4 made this programme Lee had no part in editing what they put in it.....

Please go to the Paralympics and support team GB watch Lee ride he's amazing:)
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My minimal knowledge of documentaries is that they can only edit what you allow them to film. When in such a position as Lee CBE I would be mindful of the role I had to play in showing the next generation how to achieve irespective of any disability. He should be an inspiration to all.

All this considered at times he was funny and I do not knock his ability to ride. But he still came across as arrogant and entitled. Channel 4 must have disliked Lee CBE to take such effort with the editing as you say.
 
Caballos said:
My minimal knowledge of documentaries is that they can only edit what you allow them to film.

Channel 4 must have disliked Lee CBE to take such effort with the editing as you say.
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They'll have filmed hours and hours of footage from which to pick three or four story strands to tell over about 45 minutes of actual prog.

They do pick probably a maximum of about three character traits or story threads to focus on in the storytelling, so that viewers feel they have a clear sense of a strong personality. (This is why we mere mortals imagine that if they made a documentary about us it would be really boring, because we get all of our characters all of the time, which actually makes us less distinctive rather than more...) They will have picked the character traits and the events and the comments specifically because they knew they'd make people talk about the programme. That is the one and only aim in commercial programme making, and that's why being able to highlight someone who divides opinion is the ultimate aim. So they won't have disliked him, they'll have wanted some people to like him and some people not to. Win win, and actually very much like real life.

I don't know Lee, but thought he came over like a real person. Wouldn't it be just perfect if all our Olympians / Paralympians were obviously saint-like in everything they said and did? Well no, that would be dull. Every top athlete will sometimes be selfishly focussed, otehrwise they probably wouldn't get there. We just don't see it with most of them. I'm sure Jess Ennis has off days, and I know for a fact that while Mary King is genuinely very nice, she's instantly quite different off camera / off mic than she appears on it. If Lee and Ricky compete in the same grade class, then as it turned out only one of them was going to get selected, so why on earth would he lend him a horse??!
 
philamena said:
They'll have filmed hours and hours of footage from which to pick three or four story strands to tell over about 45 minutes of actual prog.

They do pick probably a maximum of about three character traits or story threads to focus on in the storytelling, so that viewers feel they have a clear sense of a strong personality. (This is why we mere mortals imagine that if they made a documentary about us it would be really boring, because we get all of our characters all of the time, which actually makes us less distinctive rather than more...) They will have picked the character traits and the events and the comments specifically because they knew they'd make people talk about the programme. That is the one and only aim in commercial programme making, and that's why being able to highlight someone who divides opinion is the ultimate aim. So they won't have disliked him, they'll have wanted some people to like him and some people not to. Win win, and actually very much like real life.

I don't know Lee, but thought he came over like a real person. Wouldn't it be just perfect if all our Olympians / Paralympians were obviously saint-like in everything they said and did? Well no, that would be dull. Every top athlete will sometimes be selfishly focussed, otehrwise they probably wouldn't get there. We just don't see it with most of them. I'm sure Jess Ennis has off days, and I know for a fact that while Mary King is genuinely very nice, she's instantly quite different off camera / off mic than she appears on it. If Lee and Ricky compete in the same grade class, then as it turned out only one of them was going to get selected, so why on earth would he lend him a horse??!
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Well said good perspective
 
I remember seeing earlier programmes made about Lee in the run up to previous Paralympics, when he was in a pretty similar position as Ricky now. He certainly wasn't made of money, at least so far as the documentary came across and was looking for sponsors so that he would be able to continue competing and buy a new horse. I do remember him having a wicked sense of (ironic) humour (still evident) and being exceptionally determined to continue winning gold medals for GB.

His position has obviously now changed and in his later 30's he is more established as a person, rider and trainer and likely mentor for the younger members of the team - I would guess that's how Ricky sees him - they were certainly good friends. I didn't think he came across as arrogant, just slightly tongue in cheek and top of his game, but that may be coloured by what I had seen of his earlier struggles. I think he is entitled to enjoy the status he has worked hard to acheive.
 
I agree the programme did show him in a negative light but on the positive side he is just competitive and I believe we witnessed his true competitive nature.
I think he is a real ambassador for the sport and yes he may be a brat but let's be honest no one achieves Olympic medals without hard graft. Good luck to Lee and I'm sure when he is ready to retire he will become Ricky's mentor they did seem very close just competitive.
 
I also thought he came across as arrogant. No matter how good you are I don't think it is right for anyone to demand a knighthood. Felt sorry for Ricky.
 
Didn't see the programme unfortunately and equally unfortunately have never met Lee.Have to say though that any person who has acheived what Lee has despite VERY severe handicaps (remember he started life being left to die in a broom cupboard!) is not usually the sweetest little character on earth.They have to fight jolly hard for absolutely everything.His mother wouldn't let him have an assistant at school to carry his bags etc. she said he would (or must!) find friends.He did! All the best Lee.
 
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