Seb Coe and Lee Pearson visit riding centre for enthusiastic young disabled people

Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and nine-time gold medallist Lee Pearson CBE today visited a riding centre which specialises in providing riding facilities to both adults and children who have a range of special needs.

New Lodge Centre in Eltham caters for about 75 and 100 regular riders who have a range of special needs including physical, sensory, and learning difficulties.

As well as watching one of the riding lessons, Seb Coe and Lee Pearson had the opportunity to meet some of the riders and find out why riding is such a beneficial activity for them.

Lee Pearson, who has won nine gold medals at three Paralympic Games also provided advice and guidance to budding riders. He will be competing in his fourth Paralympic Games next summer and people who would like to witness him potentially win his tenth gold medal can now apply for tickets to the Equestrian event which will be held in Greenwich Park.

Tickets for the Paralympic Games are now on sale until 6pm on 26 September and people are encouraged to apply at www.tickets.london2012.com. Approximately 2 million tickets will go on sale to the public between now and Games-time, with 1.5 million being available in the first phase.

Prices start at £10 for adults and £5 for those who are 16 or under and 60 or over on 29 August 2012. 50% of tickets are £10 or under, 75% are £20 or under and there are also day passes which will enable people to see more than one sport in a day. There are also Group Organiser tickets which will allow groups to purchase 20 tickets and receive two additional tickets at no extra charge, groups of thirty receiving three extra tickets and so on up to 50 tickets.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: ‘It’s been fantastic visiting this centre and seeing how much these young disabled riders are benefiting from the activities provided by New Lodge Centre. We want to leave a lasting legacy with the Games and centres like this one will help inspire young people to give a new sport a go. The Paralympic Games are a chance for people to see sport like never before and I'd encourage people to come and experience it for themselves by applying for tickets.’

Lee Pearson CBE said: ‘I've really enjoyed meeting some of the young riders and seeing how inspired they are. This is what the Paralympic Games are all about - inspiring young people and demonstrating what they can do. When I was growing up, I would have benefited from centres like this so I’m thrilled to see the legacy the Paralympic Games will leave in London.’

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Notes to editors

As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Supplier, Otto Bock.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.