Tag: USPEA

Results of the FEI study to establish a research-backed system of evaluating riders for para-dressage competition; Reprinted from USDF Connection Nov/Dec '25

Let us celebrate the para horse. His kindness, his intuition, his spirit, his purpose; he is at schooling shows and the Paralympic theatre, he packs around the novice and dances with the greats.

Spend enough time in the dressage world and you’ll hear “she’s a Grade II Para Equestrian”, or “he’s riding the Grade V Introductory Test A”. But what do these grades mean? Let’s look at how the FEI and USEF (who has adopted the FEI Para Equestrian Classification Rules and Para Equestrian Manual for Classifiers as the National Policies and Procedures for Classification at the National level) breaks down the Para Equestrian grading system.