Amid their unprecedented medal success, US medalists, supporters mourn the loss of US para-dressage champion Hope Hand and remember Paralympian Jonathan Wentz
By Kim MacMillan
Some might describe the US para-dressage community as like a family. Celebrating Roxanne Trunnell’s Grade I Individual test aboard Fortunato H2O In Herning 2022 were (from left) USPEA interim president Tina Wentz; Trunnell’s coach, Andrea Woodard; USEF para-dressage director Laureen Johnson; and US para-dressage national team technical advisor Michel Assouline. Allen MacMillan/MacMillan Photography
At the 2022 Orifarm Healthcare FEI World Para-Dressage Championships in Herning, Denmark, in August, US para-dressage athletes had their best finish ever at a world championships: a trio of medals, with the USA winning team bronze, Grade III athlete Rebecca Hart on El Corona Texel taking home an individual bronze, and Grade IV athlete Kate Shoemaker on Quiana capping the achievements with a freestyle silver.
For complete results of the Herning 2022 para-dressage competition, see below. For competition analysis, insights from a judge, and more photos, see “US Para-Dressage Powers up at World Championships” in the November/December 2022 issue of USDF Connection.)
Yet there were poignant moments among Team USA’s athletes and supporters, even as the riders and horses were reaching new heights of excellence. That’s because two key faces were missing from the US cheering section in Denmark.
One very recent absence felt keenly was that of Hope Hand. Hand, a two-time Paralympian and the founder and president of the US Para-Equestrian Association (USPEA), died at age 73 of pancreatic cancer just two months before competition commenced in Herning. Hand had planned to be in Denmark, and the athletes and support team she had mentored during her long equestrian career expressed their grief and sorrow that fate had intervened with that plan.
“Hope would have been overjoyed to see the US para-dressage team standing on the podium to receive their team bronze medal,” said US Equestrian (USEF) para-equestrian director Laureen Johnson, who had worked closely with Hand since the late 1990s.
“If it weren’t for Hope, these athletes may have never heard of the sport,” Johnson said. “Hope relentlessly sought new talent. She educated and encouraged each rider to excel through the USEF pathway program,” a “pipeline” system that helps to identify and mentor promising athletes and horses. Referring to Team USA’s bronze-medal finish, Johnson said, “This would have been a very proud moment for her, to know the US team has secured their slot for the 2024 Paralympic Games.”
Another US para-dressage figure who continues to loom large in the sport even after his passing is Jonathan Wentz. At the 2012 London Paralympic Games, Wentz, who finished fourth individually and fifth in the freestyle, was the highest-placed equestrian athlete representing the US in any discipline, and his accomplishments helped to bring US para-dressage to the forefront. Sadly, Wentz died shortly after those Games. He was just 21.
But Wentz’s legacy lives on, not only through the achievements of the athletes he inspired, but also through his mother, Christina “Tina” Wentz, who began volunteering in the sport as a result of her son’s involvement. After Hand’s death, Tina Wentz was named interim president of the USPEA.
“Jonathan and Hope first got me involved with para-dressage over 25 years ago,” Wentz said from the sidelines in Herning. “Both were Paralympians, fierce competitors, and strove to educate the public that Paralympic sport is parallel to Olympic—and as such, requires the same amount of dedication in training and funding to achieve success. Success brings recognition, recognition brings funding, and funding continues success. US para-dressage owes Hope a huge debt of thanks. She is and always will be greatly missed, but her persistent smile and determination will always be with us.”
We salute the pioneering achievements of Hand, Wentz, and others who have helped to make US para-dressage the sport it is today, and we celebrate the incredible performances of the horses and riders at Herning 2022. Read on for a complete list of para-dressage World Championships results.
Herning 2022 Para-Dressage Results
Para-dressage team medals: Denmark (silver), Netherlands (gold), and USA (bronze) Sarah Miller/MacMillan Photography
Team Medals
Gold
Netherlands 230.225
Silver
Denmark 229.751
Bronze
USA 225.335
Team Tests (Individual Medals)
Grade I
Gold
Rihards Snikus/King of the Dance (LAT) 78.535%
Silver
Sara Morganti/Royal Delight (ITA) 78.393%
Bronze
Michael Murphy/Cleverboy (IRL) 74.143%.
6. Roxanne Trunnell/Fortunato H2O 72.571%
Grade II
Gold
Katrine Kristensen/Goerklintgaards Quarter (DEN) 75.788%
Silver
Pepo Puch/Sailor’s Blue (AUT) 75.333%
Bronze
Lee Pearson/Breezer (GBR) 75.091%
4. Beatrice de Lavalette/Sixth Sense 71.758%
Grade III
Gold
Tobias Thorning Joergensen/Jolene Hill (DEN) 78.676%
Silver
Natasha Baker/Keystone Dawn Chorus (GBR) 73.970%
Bronze
Rebecca Hart/El Corona Texel (USA) 73.147%
Grade III Individual medalists Natasha Baker of Great Britain (silver), Tobias Thorning Joergensen of Denmark (gold), and Rebecca Hart of the USA (bronze) Allen MacMillan/MacMillan Photography
Grade IV
Gold
Sanne Voets/Demantur RS2 N.O.P. (NED) 76.750%
Silver
Demi Haerkens/EHL Daula (NED) 76.000%
Bronze
Rodolpho Riskalla/Don Henrico (BRA) 74.925%
4. Kate Shoemaker/Quiana 73.900%
Grade V
Gold
Michèle George/Best of 8 (BEL) 76.419%
Silver
Sophie Wells/Don Cara M (GBR) 75.279%
Bronze
Frank Hosmar/Alphaville N.O.P. (NED) 75.256%
Individual Tests
Grade I Individual Test
4. Roxanne Trunnell/Fortunato H2O 75.214%
Grade II Individual Test
4. Beatrice de Lavalette/Sixth Sense 73.235%
Grade III Individual Test
2. Rebecca Hart/El Corona Texel 74.706%
Grade IV Individual Test
3. Kate Shoemaker/Quiana 75.415%
Freestyle Medals
Grade I
Gold
Sara Morganti/Royal Delight (ITA) 80.653%
Silver
Rihards Snikus/King of the Dance (LAT) 78.400%
Bronze
Michael Murphy/Cleverboy (IRL) 78.387%
4. Roxanne Trunnell/Fortunato H2O 76.447%
Grade II
Gold
Katrine Kristensen/Goerklintgaards Quarter (DEN) 80.354%
Silver
Lee Pearson/Breezer (GBR) 77.860%
Bronze
Georgia Wilson/Sakura (GBR) 75.834%
5. Beatrice de Lavalette/Sixth Sense 72.107%
Grade III
Gold
Tobias Thorning Joergensen/Jolene Hill (DEN) 86.513%
Silver
Lotte Krijnsen/Rosenstolz (NED) 76.673%
Bronze
Natasha Baker/Keystone Dawn Chorus (GBR) 76.620%
7. Rebecca Hart/El Corona Texel 72.080%
Grade IV
Gold
Sanne Voets/Demantur RS2 N.O.P. (NED) 82.485%
Silver
Kate Shoemaker/Quiana (USA) 80.275%
Bronze
Rodolpho Riskalla/Don Henrico (BRA) 78.385%
Grade V
Gold
Michèle George/Best of 8 (BEL) 82.860%
Silver
Frank Hosmar/Alphaville N.O.P. (NED) 80.775%
Bronze
Sophie Wells/Don Cara M (GBR) 79.255%
[…] four. Fortunato is now 7 years old and is an active breeding stallion, 2022 team medalist at the Para Dressage World Championships in Herning, Denmark with Roxanne Trunnell, and is currently competing at Fourth Level with Lehua. […]