Michele George to Make Come Back with New Young Horses, Best of 8 Retired

Belgium

After an almost two year absence from international para sport, Paralympic champion Michèle George is set to make a come back to the sport with new, younger horses.

Long Hiatus

Belgian Michele George is a seven-time individual gold medal winner at four Olympics from 2012 till 2024. She rode horses Rainman and Best Of to eight medals in total with one silver in the kur in Rio. She also won four times gold at the 2014 and 2022 World Para Dressage Championships. At the European Championships between 2009 and 2023 she rode four different horses, including Fusion and Sagaminne and there were two gold medals over those years.

After the 2024 Paralympics in Paris in September 2024 she completely disappeared off the radar; she fully stopped competing and removed herself entirely from having a social media presence. In January 2025 George's husband, veterinarian Bernard Vangheluwe, passed away. They have two children, Camille en Pierre-Paul. The former briefly competed internationally as a junior rider between 2017 and 2019.

George missed out on defending her title at the 2025 Europeans in Ermelo. In 2025 she competed once at a national show in Baudour on 21 June with the Friesian Tanco fan Berltsum (by Epke 474 x Onne 376), scoring 67.564% in the Grade V Grand Prix A test.

Michele has not yet renewed her FEI athlete registration for 2026.

"After the passing of my husband, which was an incredibly difficult and life-changing period for me and my family, I chose to step away from social media for a while," Michele told Eurodressage. "I needed space, privacy and time away from the constant messages and attention in order to focus on my children, myself and the people closest to me."

The Return with New Horses

George at her last Europeans in 2023 in Riesenbeck

Born in Ostend and based in Amougies (BEL), Michele returned to social media on 9 March 2026 when she posted she got invited to the Belgian royal palace for International Women's Day.

Last week she announced that she is returning with two new, younger horses: So Special and Full Option. A third horse is in the pipeline.

"I’m enjoying working with the next generation, Michele told Eurodressage. "So Special is a nice 6-year old gelding by Sezuan’s Donnerhall and Full Option is a 6-year old stallion by Fürstenball. Two very nice horses that I truly enjoy working with and I’m curious to see what the future will bring for them. So not really a come back but more simply continuing to do what I’ve always done, but in my own way."

Michele explained that, "sport has never stopped being my passion though. I currently only have young horses and I want to train them correctly and without pressure." When asked if she has any show plans, she said, "So Special and Full Option are both only 6 and for me it is important that they are physically and mentally ready before asking them to compete and travel internationally. I believe in building horses for a long-term career, not rushing them just to “be there”."

Best Of 8 Retired

Michele confirmed to Eurodressage that her top horse, Best Of, has been retired from high performance sport.

"With Best of 8, I competed at the highest level for many years and was fortunate to achieve great success," she said. "To me, true horsemanship is not only about winning, but also about knowing when to give a horse the dignity of leaving top sport at the right moment on a high note, with respect for everything they have given, instead of continuing until the quality fades."

Wendy Laeremans, sport director of the Belgian
Equestrian Federation and co-owner of Best Of 8

Michele added, "after everything she has given me and everything we achieved together, I did not want to keep campaigning her just for the sake of competing. She deserved to leave the international stage on a high note, healthy, happy and appreciated for the exceptional mare she is. For me, that is part of true horsemanship as well. Best is still ridden every day but now mostly easy going. We simply enjoy life together and she deserves that retirement more than ever."

Best Of is a 16-year old Hanoverian mare by Bonifatius out of Melodie (by Maurice). She was originally owned by the Ahorner family and sold to Georges in 2019. Her name is "Best Of" but the "8" points at her German FN registry number as she was the eighth horse with the name 'Best Of' recorded with the German Equestrian Federation.