Rebecca Hart’s first Paralympic individual medal is Grade III gold; first-timer Fiona Howard takes Grade II individual gold; Roxanne Trunnell wins Grade I individual silver
By Kim MacMillan; Photos by Sarah E. Miller/MacMillan Photography
The USA came to play today, September 3, on the first day of para-dressage competition at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, and grabbed some serious precious metal in the process.
Grades I, II, and III athletes competed for individual medals today. First up were the Grade III individual tests, with 13 competitors from 12 countries vying for medals. In that division, Rebecca Hart and her relatively new mount, Rowan O’Riley’s 16-year-old Hanoverian mare Floratina, won gold on a score of 77.900%. This is the first Paralympic individual medal for the five-time Paralympian.
“It is such a surreal experience to ride into this venue,” Hart said of the palace of Versailles, “with so much history and the majesty of this arena.” Of Floratina, she said, “She has just felt like a partner since the day that I sat on her. She is the ultimate professional. She has traveled around the world with me and other riders. She just knows her job. She is so confident in herself and is the kindest and most intelligent mare I have ever experienced.”
On the podium with Hart in the Grade III individual competition were silver medalist Rixt van der Horst of the Netherlands on Royal Fonq (76.433) and bronze medalist Natasha Baker of Great Britain on Dawn Chorus (73.167).
The Grade II individual tests were next, with nine competitors from eight countries. The USA’s national anthem played again at the medal ceremony, this time for first-time Paralympian Fiona Howard riding Diamond Dunes (76.931), an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Dressage Family LLC and Hof Kasselmann. Howard and “Dunes” finished 2.965 percentage points over silver medalist Katrine Kristensen of Denmark on Goerklintgaards Quarter. Great Britain’s Georgia Wilson riding Sakura captured Grade II individual bronze.
“Diamond Dunes is amazing,” said Howard after their test. “He really tries so hard for me. I’ve only been in combination with him since March. I just really went in there and was like, ‘I trust you,’ and, and he was like, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you.’ He gave me confidence throughout the whole test, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
The final competition today was for individual medals in Grade I, the largest class of the day with 22 riders from 19 countries. The USA’s Roxanne Trunnell, the defending Paralympic gold medalist from Tokyo 2021, won the silver medal on Fan Tastico H, a seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Karin Flint. Their score of 78.000% was just 1.167 points from gold—a great result for a combination that’s been competing together internationally only since January.
Trunnell said that the US riders have been working hard toward the goal of improving their performances for Paris and that she was honored to ride at the iconic Versailles venue.
“It is nice to see it pay off,” she said. “Michel Assouline is a really good chef d’équipe. He’s got us all shaping up with well, with harder training and better horses. I think it is really cool to get to ride here and see it all.”
Capturing individual Grade I gold was Latvia’s Rihards Snikus (79.167), the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic individual silver medalist, riding his partner from those Games, the now 16-year-old Latvian Warmblood King of the Dance. The Grade I individual bronze went to Italy’s Sara Morganti riding Mariebelle. Morganti was the Tokyo 2021 bronze medalist aboard a different horse.
What’s Next?
Hart, Howard, and Trunnell all qualified today to move on to their grades’ individual freestyle competition, all of which will be held Saturday, September 7. (Sneak preview: Hart’s music will be from the movie Driving Miss Daisy, Howard’s from Avatar, and Trunnell’s from The Lion King.) But before that, three of the four US riders will ride for team medals in the team competition Friday, September 6.
Tomorrow, September 4, US fans will cheer on Grade IV athlete Kate Shoemaker on Vianne as she rides her individual test. Grades IV and V will compete for their respective individual medals starting at 10:00 a.m. Central European Time (4:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the US).
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