Gladstone, NJ – June 2, 2012 – United States Para-Equestrians from California to New England will be making their way to Gladstone, New Jersey for the 2012 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage Paralympic Selection Trials and National Championships. The Trials and National Championships will take place at the USET Headquarters June 10-13, 2012. Although the final count of riders is not official at this time, this may be one of the largest attended Selection Trials and National Championships for the Para-Equestrian discipline. Athletes will compete over three days demonstrating their Team, Individual, and Freestyle Tests. The National Championship scores will be calculated using 40% of the Team Test, 40% of the Individual and 20% of the Freestyle Test Scores. With only four spots for the United States Paralympic Team that will head to London, the competition will be tenacious. Riders will compete under FEI Ground Jury Carlos Lopes (5*) POR, Anne Prain (5*) FRA, and Marc Urban (5*) BEL. Equestrians will be seeing these judges again if they qualify for London with Lopes and Prain who are members of the ground jury and Marc Urban who will be the Assistant Technical Delegate. The Paralympic Equestrian events take place in London, England at Greenwich Park August 30 – September 4, 2012.
FAST FACTS: 2012 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage Paralympic Selection Trials and National Championships
WHAT: Para-Equestrian Dressage Selection Trials for London Paralympics
WHEN: June 11-13, 2012 (jog occurs June 10)
SHOW MANAGER: Kim Keenan Stordahl
SCHEDULE (Tentative):
3:00 p.m.–Sunday June 10th
Veterinary Inspections
(sign-up for jog time slot at check-in)
-A reception for all competitors will follow the veterinary inspection
9:00AM–Monday, June 11th
Class 11 – FEI Grade Ia Team Test
Class 12 – FEI Grade Ib Team Test
Class 13 – FEI Grade II Team Test
Class 14 – FEI Grade III Team Test
Class 15 – FEI Grade IV Team Test
8:00AM–Tuesday, June 12th
Class 21 – FEI Grade Ia Individual Test
Class 22- FEI Grade Ib Individual Test
Class 23 – FEI Grade II Individual Test
Class 24 – FEI Grade III Individual Test
Class 25 – FEI Grade IV Individual Test
8:00AM –Wednesday, June 13th
Class 31 – FEI Grade Ia Freestyle Test
Class 32 – FEI Grade Ib Freestyle Test
Class 33 – FEI Grade II Freestyle Test
Class 34 – FEI Grade III Freestyle Test
Class 35 – FEI Grade IV Freestyle Test
1:00PM –Wednesday, June 13th
Award Ceremonies directly following last class
QUALIFICATION FOR PARALYMPIC SELECTION TRIALS
The athlete/horse combinations will be ranked based on their overall performance at the Selection Trial, by weighting the FEI Para-Equestrian Dressage test scores from the Selection Trial as follows (Final Rankings):
– Individual Championship Test = 40%
– Team Test = 40%
– Musical Freestyle Test = 20%
–If there is a tie in the Final Ranking of the Selection Trial, the tie will be broken based upon the highest score earned by the athlete/horse combination in the Individual Championship Test at the Selection Trial. If a tie remains thereafter, it will be broken based upon the highest test score earned by the athlete/horse combination in the Team Test of the Selection Trial. If a tie still remains thereafter, it will be broken based upon the Musical Freestyle Test score awarded by the president of the Ground Jury to the horse/athlete combination in the Selection Trial. If a tie still remains thereafter it will be broken based on the majority vote of the Selectors.
LIVE SCORING:
Please visit http://www.usefnetwork.com to find out more about Live Scoring during the event. Verified scores will be posted to the website approximately every ten (10) minutes.
ABOUT THE EQUESTRIAN PARALYMPICS (courtesy of FEI)
Host nation Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and Canada have qualified the maximum number of riders and will each be represented by a team of four and one individual.
Nine countries – USA, The Netherlands, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, South Africa, Australia and France – have qualified four riders.
The National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) of Singapore and Mexico, which had originally qualified four riders, returned one qualification slot each and will be represented by three-rider teams. The unused slots were re-allocated to Norway and Israel on the basis of the Individual Para-Equestrian Rankings of athletes not already qualified with a team. As a result, Norway, which had already qualified two individual riders, will be fielding a composite team consisting of three members.
New Zealand and Finland will be represented by two individual riders apiece. Bermuda, Argentina, Japan, Hong Kong and Austria have each been allocated one individual slot.
Three Bipartite Commission invitations have been issued to Thomas Haller of Austria, Lee Frawley of the Virgin Islands and Anita Johnsson of Sweden.
The nominated entries will be published on 18 June 2012 and definite entries on 6 August. A total of 78 Para-Equestrian riders will be battling it out for the 11 sets of medals available. The detailed list of qualified nations is available here.
SUMMARY:
26 nations – ARG, AUS, AUT, BEL, BER, BRA, CAN, DEN, FIN, FRA, GBR, GER, HKG, IRL, ISR, ISV, ITA, JPN, MEX, NED, NOR, NZL, RSA, SIN, SWE, USA
TEAMS –
4 nations with 5 riders (team + 1 individual): CAN, DEN, GBR, GER
9 nations with 4 riders (team): AUS, BEL, BRA, FRA, IRL, ITA, NED, RSA, USA
3 nations with 3 riders (team): MEX, NOR, SIN
NATIONS REPRESENTED ONLY BY INDIVIDUALS-
2 nations with 2 individuals: FIN, NZL
6 nations with 1 individual: AUT, ARG, BER, ISR, JPN, HKG
3 Bipartite Commission invitations: AUT, ISV, SWE
About United States Para-Equestrian Association:
The USPEA is a network of riders, judges, national federation board members, and equestrian enthusiasts. The association gives athletes the ability to get involved and expand their knowledge and experience in the Para-Equestrian sport. The USPEA encourages para-athletes to participate in all disciplines under the para-equestrian umbrella.
The USPEA is a recognized affiliate of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) which serves as the National Governing Body for the equestrian sport. This relationship between the USPEA and USEF is to encourage para-equestrian competitors, leisure riders, coaches, fans and enthusiasts to network and get involved with the entire equestrian sport.
Ultimately the goal of the USPEA is to foster growth in the para-equestrian discipline. From growth in the number of participants to growth as a team, and growth in the experience and knowledge of all involved. From local horse shows to international Olympic Games, the USPEA will provide para-equestrians the knowledge of what they need to succeed. The USPEA connects with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), the United States Dressage Federation (USDF), and USEF which provides Para-Equestrians the top equestrian resources.
In June 2010, the USPEA earned its 501 (c)(3) status which has encouraged supporters to help supply funding to the Para-Equestrian Team as a recognized affiliate of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF).
For more information about the USPEA please visit www.USPEA.org or contact USPEA President Hope Hand by e-mail: Wheeler966@aol.com or by phone: (610)356-6481.