Tag: Para-Equestrian

As we begin 2023, USDF is taking the opportunity to commemorate some members of our dressage community that we have lost during the last...

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...

From ages 13 to 18, I endured six brain surgeries, followed by two spinal surgeries, each necessary to save my life. With extensive physical therapy at a rehabilitation center, I started the road to recovery and continued to improve myself through emotional therapy with my personal horses, and physical therapy riding with RideOn, a Therapeutic Riding Center in Chatsworth, CA. The motivation to get back on my personal horses, honestly, is what saved my life and kept me going.

Para-dressage runs parallel to “able-bodied” dressage in almost every aspect. When it comes to selecting a horse, is there any difference between the two disciplines? By Elizabeth Moyer Reprinted from the January/February 2020 issue of USDF Connection magazine

I was a scholarship winner for the USDF Youth Convention Scholarship! My mom and I went, and were really interested in the youth seminars they had. We were at the convention for two days and got to meet so many people. I really enjoyed listening to the coaches and riders talk about their experiences in competition and with their horses.

My goals and aspirations were turned on their head in 2010, when a ranching accident resulted in the loss of my left hand. Three months after my accident, I weaned myself off all medication so that I could ride out with my crew to work bulls in the fall. I have been riding and starting colts ever since, never looking back.

Robin had gas-colicked a few times and was occasionally choking; he was thin and losing weight. Everyone believed it was the beginning of the end. Fortunately, his bouts of colic didn’t make Ann-Louise hesitant for him to do a little work. However, she didn’t know that letting him carry a disabled woman around for an hour a week would set them both on a marvelous journey.

Meet the Youngest U.S. Classified Para Equestrian - Genevieve Rohner. She is a Grade IV Para Equestrian based in Park City, UT. "To say my daughter’s life in the equestrian world ‘has been’ a journey is not correct, as that implies something has ended. In fact, the journey is still unfolding."

Casual observers may wonder why walk-trot tests are included in the World Equestrian Games. In an exclusive interview, USEF national para-equestrian dressage coach and coordinator Kai Handt explained why para-dressage is much more than USDF Introductory Level. He also set the record straight on the realities and challenges of the para-dressage discipline.

Para-equestrian is a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) discipline for athletes with a permanent, measurable physical disability. Para-dressage stands parallel to dressage as an option for these athletes.