RECORD-breaking Paralympic champion Lee Pearson has received a ringing endorsement from Olympic silver medallist Michael Whitaker as he bids for his ninth consecutive equestrian gold medal.

Pearson guns for glory in the Grade 1b individual freestyle test later today, having romped to victory in the Grade 1b individual event and having led GB to their fourth consecutive team gold on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old, from Cheddleton, remarkably remains unbeaten in all of his Paralympic appearances, having chalked up a hat-trick of gold medals in Sydney 2000 and repeated the trick four years ago in Athens.

And Whitaker, a three-time European champion, lavished praise on the eight-time champion, admitting he was full of admiration for Pearson and his gold medal monopoly.

"It is a fantastic achievement; it is unbelievable to have so much dominance in one sport and especially one like this," he said.

"It's an admirable display of bravery. It's hard enough to build up a relationship with a horse and be confident enough to perform when you're able-bodied.

"In Olympic equestrian it is a stand-out achievement to get two or at a push three gold medals, but to be going for nine is completely unheard of.

"It demonstrates a real will to win. There are so many variables and things that can go wrong in equestrian, but to consistently win like that is a testament to Lee's character."

Pearson, who has already thrown his hat into the ring for London 2012, only began working with current horse Gentleman in January after calling time on Blue Circle Boy's career after years of success. And Whitaker, who was forced to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics at the 11th hour after his horse Portofino, was found to be lame, marvelled at Pearson's impeccable record.

"The Para-equestrians have a much harder task in training horses," he added. "It's a full-time job, you put your faith in your horse, you have to get to the stage where you're not even thinking, where everything comes naturally.

"To have a disability in the way that Lee does and still perform so well is truly awe-inspiring. It takes a lot of confidence and belief to be able to do that."

LLOYDS TSB is a proud first partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and a supporter of ParalympicsGB on their journey to 2012. For more information, visit LloydsTSB.com/London2012