After a rest day, Team USA gears up to go for gold in team para-dressage medal competition
By Kim MacMillan
The final para-dressage individual division to compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games was Grade V. These athletes are the most able-bodied of the five grades (expert classifications) of para-dressage riders, albeit still with challenges to overcome as they display amazing athleticism in the saddle. Grade V competitors are required to show work in all three gaits in their FEI Grand Prix Test A.
Seventeen competitors from 14 countries competed in that group today, September 4. There was one competitor each from Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Switzerland; and two each from Belgium, Germany, and Norway. No American rider at Paris 2024 is a Grade V athlete.
Belgium’s Michele George on Best of 8 won the Grade V individual gold medal on a score of 76.692%. Taking the silver medal was Regine Mispelkamp of Germany on Highlander Delight’s (73.231%). Great Britain’s Sophie Wells and LJT Egebjerggards Samoa won bronze on 72.257%.
A Rest Day; Then USA Goes for a Team Medal
Tomorrow, Thursday, September 5, is a day off for the para-dressage competitors and their mounts. The top eight individual horse-and-rider combinations in each of the five grades will return on Saturday, September 7, to vie for their grades’ individual freestyle medals.
But first, the countries that have sent the maximum allowed four qualified riders (including the USA) must choose the three who will represent their nation in the para-dressage team tests (FEI Grand Prix Test B) on Friday, September 6. Watch for the announcement of which three US riders will compete for Team USA!
Want to watch the Paralympic para-dressage competition live? Go to https://www.nbcolympics.com/para-equestrian to get instructions for accessing and viewing the live stream from the US.
[…] Belgium’s Michele George Takes Grade V Individual Gold at Paris 2024 Paralympics […]