Team USA: 2024 Paris Paralympic Games

By Amber Wiseman; Photos courtesy of US Equestrian

The 2024 Paralympic Games run from August 28 through September 8, and feature twenty-two sports with athletes from 169 nations. Like its able-bodied counterpart event, the 2024 Para Equestrian dressage events are to be held at Château de Versailles. A total of 78 Para Equestrians and their horses will dance down centerline, representing all five para Grades and thirty nations.

The equestrian events will begin on September 3, with the Individual Grade I, Grade II, and Grade III competitions, while the Grade IV and Grade V Individual tests will be ridden on the following day, September 4. After one dark day with no equestrian competition, athletes will return to the ring in the Team Tests for all Grades on September 6. Those who qualify will then compete for the final time on September 7 in the Freestyle for each Grade.

Meet The Human Athletes

Four horse-and-rider teams made the trek across the Atlantic to represent the United States at the 17th Paralympic Summer Games. They are Rebecca Hart, Fiona Howard, Kate Shoemaker, and Roxanne Trunnell, along with Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline. 

Rebecca Hart

Four-time Paralympian Rebecca Hart returns to the sandbox aboard Rowan O’Riley’s Floratina. As the most veteran of Team USA, Hart brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience at international competitions. The thirty-nine-year-old has amassed a collection of outstanding accomplishments, which include four FEI World Equestrian Games appearances and seven USEF Para Equestrian Dressage National Champion titles, in addition to four back-to-back Paralympic appearances (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, and Tokyo 2020). 

Entering this competition as the second-highest-ranked Grade III equestrian on the FEI World Rank standings, Hart finished the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics as part of the bronze medal-winning USA team. Most recently, Hart and Floratina won the Para Grand Prix Freestyle III at Hagen a T.W. CPEDI3* in Germany in June, with a score of 79.345%.

Fiona Howard

Making her Paralympic debut, Fiona Howard will dance with Diamond Dunes, owned by Dressage Family LLC and Hof Kasselmann. Twenty-five-year-old Howard, of Boston, Massachusetts, rode her first para dressage test in just 2021, before her meteoric rise to represent the USA in international competition. Prior to a diagnosis of dystonia, Howard represented her home country of Great Britain as a part of the British Junior Reining Team. Immigrating to the United States in 2016 for ongoing treatment to manage her dystonia, she is now classified as a Grade II athlete, and sits in the top spot on the FEI World Ranking list of Grade II FEI para equestrians. 

Most recently, Howard and Diamond Dunes swept the Grade II division at Hagen a T.W. CPEDI3* in Germany, winning the Para Grand Prix A II (76.264%), Para Grand Prix B II (77.056%), and the Para Grand Prix Freestyle II (79.023%).

Kate Shoemaker

Kate Shoemaker returns to the Paralympic sandbox with a new partner in Norcordia USA-owned Vianne. Representing the USA for the second time, Shoemaker was part of the bronze medal team in Tokyo. After just missing the individual medals at that event, she will no doubt be looking for some individual hardware this time. Shoemaker is an international veteran, sporting accolades that include team bronze in Tokyo and team bronze at the 2022 FEI Para Dressage World Championships (in addition to an individual silver there!). While Vianne and Shoemaker’s partnership is still fairly new, they have yet to finish outside the top three in any of the CPEDI3* events they’ve contested together.

Like Howard, Shoemaker currently sits atop the FEI World Rank Grade IV list, coming off a win at the Mill Spring CPEDI3* with Colijn mere days after sweeping the podium at Hagen a T.W. CPEDI3* in Germany with Vianne. 

Roxanne Trunnell

Rounding out Team USA is Roxanne Trunnell, another returning para dressage athlete. Trunnell will be contesting her third Paralympics, this time aboard Karin Flint’s Fan Tastico H. Trunnell has been a mainstay in American para dressage circles since 2013, when she competed in her first CPEDI. Trunnell broke Paralympic records aboard her Tokyo partner, Dolton, and together, they earned over 80% multiple times, including a record-breaking 89.522% in the Grade I FEI Para Dressage Freestyle at the 2021 Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI3*. Her list of accomplishments also includes three team appearances at the FEI World Equestrian Games, and an individual bronze medal in the FEI Grade I Freestyle at WEG Tryon 2018. 

After sitting atop the leaderboard in the FEI World Rankings of Grade I para equestrians, Trunnell currently sits third, behind Great Britain’s Mari Durward-Akhurst and Italy’s Sara Morganti. Twenty-one ranking points separate the top three spots, so Trunnell will surely be out to reclaim the top spot she held for 26 months from 2020-2022. 

Michel Assouline – Chef d’Equipe

Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline was appointed Head of Para Equestrian Coach Development and High Performance Consultant by US Equestrian in May 2017, and since 2019, has continued to work closely with US Equestrian and USPEA Para Centers of Excellence to develop seminars and coaching sessions. A native of the United Kingdom, Assouline was inducted into the UK Coaching Hall of Fame, and was awarded the Mussbini Medal, which recognizes outstanding British coaches. 

Assouline is an integral part of Team USA, bringing a wealth of para dressage and training/coaching knowledge with him, backed by his history as head coach of the British para equestrian team, which captured eleven medals (four silver and seven gold) at Rio 2016. 

Meet The Equine Athletes

Floratina

Sixteen-year-old Floratina is a Paralympic first-timer, having only been competing with Rebecca Hart since June 2023. The Hanoverian mare by Fidertanz previously represented Canada with Lindsay Kellock at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and then was partnered with Canadian Chloe Gasiorowski, before Hart took over the reins.

“Flora”, as she’s affectionately known around the barn, has demonstrated herself to be a great match for Hart, and the pair have become a force to be reckoned with in the Grade III ring, earning more than 25 wins in both the US and in Europe. The pair have been competing exclusively in Europe since April, and have only finished off the top of the podium twice in that time. Floratina is groomed by Mackenzie Young, and owned by Rowan O’Riley.

Diamond Dunes

“Dunes”, an eleven-year-old Hanoverian gelding by De L’or, has been competing with Fiona Howard since March of this year, debuting in Florida before shipping overseas to compete in Europe for the summer. Owned by Dressage Family LLC and Hof Kasselmann, and groomed by Helen Claire McNulty, Dunes and Howard’s first test together produced promising results, with a score of 72.356%, and they have only continued to improve. While still a fresh partnership, they will certainly be competitive on their quest to bring some hardware stateside. 

Vianne

This eight-year-old grey mare by Vitalis is a head-turner! Owned by Norcordia USA and groomed by Katherine Barrett, “V”, an American Hanoverian, was previously competed by Hope Beerling, of Australia, in the FEI 7-Year-Old test at preliminary and championship competitions in the Netherlands. Debuting with Shoemaker in February, the pair have exclusively competed overseas, and have yet to finish off the podium in any starts together. The pair hope to continue that streak this week. 

Fan Tastico H

The youngest of Team USA, “Fanta” is a seven-year-old Oldenburg by Fuerstenball OLD. Owned by Karin Flint and groomed by Rafael Hernandez-Carillo, the dark bay gelding has been competing with Roxanne Trunnell since only March, but they have become a force of nature in the Grade I ring, breaking into the 80%s twice in their short career together, thus far. This will be Fanta’s first time competing overseas with Trunnell, and no doubt all eyes will be on them as they dance their way down centerline!

Where to Watch

The International Paralympic Committee announced in a press release on August 28, 2024, that all twenty-two sports will be broadcast live for the first time in Paralympic history. Find the schedule and stream all of the events here: https://www.nbc.com/paris2024

We wish all the riders and horses the best of luck! Go Team USA!!!

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