Rebecca Hart and Schroeters Romani at the Moorsele, Belgium CPEDI3*, April 25-27, 2014. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Hart.

Unionville, PA – May 7, 2014 – It is imperative that international high-performance athletes competing for the U.S. travel overseas especially with the upcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) in Normandy, France. When para-dressage riders travel abroad with their horses they are able to compete in front of multiple FEI judges alongside their future competition. With the amount of riders that travel to the European CPEDI3* events, riders can get a good idea about where they stand, what they need to work on, and what their competitors are looking like. This feedback will help them on their road to the next international show. Although this is important, financially traveling overseas can be difficult in addition to the travel and scheduling commitment that it can take. This April 2014, three individual para-dressage riders took the opportunity to fly to France and Belgium during the multiple para-equestrian dressage CPEDI3* competitions. These riders all left just days after competing at the 2014 Adequan Global Dressage Festival CPEDI3* in Wellington, Florida. Athletes included two-time Paralympian Rebecca Hart (Grade II) and her horse Schroeters Romani; Margaret McIntosh (Grade Ia) and her own Rio Rio; and Mary Jordan (Grade IV) with Oldenburg gelding, Rubicon 75, owned by Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center of Loxahatchee, Florida, and formally owned and ridden by Catherine Haddad Staller of International Dressage. The competitions included Deauville, France, CPEDI3*, April 4-6, 2014, and the Moorsele, Belgium, CPEDI3*, April 25-27, 2014. These events were the final preparation before the 2014 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship and Para-Dressage Selection Trials for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™. The National Championship/Selection Trials will be held June 2-5, 2014, at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ.

Rebecca Hart truly enjoyed the experience in Europe with her new mount, 12-year-old Danish Warmblood mare, Schroeters Romani, who was purchased from Straight Horse in Denmark in partnership with Hart’s family, Margaret Duprey, Cherry Knoll Farm, Sycamore Station Equine Division, Barbara Summer, the Ruffolos, and Will and Sandy Kimmel. Hart explained, “It was a truly humbling experience. To have people believe in me enough to enable me to go over and compete on that level was astounding. The experience really helped me to learn about my horse and myself as a competitor. It feels a little bit like a roller coaster in events like this when the stakes are high. I was very very happy with being in the top five, and making it into the freestyle at both competitions, especially with all the top riders and countries there. I felt it was so important, since we are a new combination, to get over there and give my horse the exposure to the international judges that we can’t do here in the states due to the lack of CPEDIs. My horse traveled beautifully and held her composure in some very atmospheric arenas. The judges were all very complimentary and gave us good guidance on what to work on as we head towards selection trials for the 2014 World Equestrian Games.”

Hart continued, “It was phenomenal to get to focus so specifically on my horse over the last three months. I got to go into a ‘professional horse bubble’ starting with Florida and then continuing on to Europe. It was great to get to step away from my normal everyday stressors like work and concentrate completely on my horse, fitness, and riding. It was a gift and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to do it. Having the time to focus like that, when it is still such a new relationship with Romani, has helped to bring us together as a team, especially with all the travel and fluctuations with the competitions. She is beginning to trust that even if we move around and the schedule or routine changes I am going to be the constant. She is a horse that likes to know what’s happening and have a routine. Getting her to trust me is the key to this partnership, and we are on our way.”

Hart added, “Having Margaret (Gigi) McIntosh and Rio come and compete with us was lovely. We were a traveling unit and it was great to have the camaraderie and support. It made the whole experience that much more fun. Gigi and I have been teammates for the last year and a half. We went horse shopping together and got our horses at the same time. It has been lovely to share the adventure with her. Having someone else to be able to bounce ideas off and share the experiences with has been huge. We train together at Blue Hill Farm and it has been fun watching as our relationships with our horses grow from the first ride to maturing to the point that we were able to successfully compete and hold our own in Europe. We are both looking forward to competing at the National Championship and Selection Trials.”

Hart concluded, “This trip would not have been possible without the amazing support team that surrounds me. I can’t thank them enough for this opportunity. A huge thank you to Margaret Duprey, William and Sandy Kimmel, Missy and Jessica Ransehousen, Todd Flettrich, Sycamore Station and everyone associated with Team Hart.”

Margaret McIntosh and her Rheinland-Pfalz-Saar mare, Rio Rio, enjoyed their time overseas. She explained, “The last leg of our European tour found us in the small town of Moorsele, Belgium, at the magnificent equestrian show venue, Quadrille. Mary Jordan, Rebecca Hart and I shared our stabling with three lovely British riders and a very boisterous Italian Paralympic team. As a bonus, our dear friend James Dwyer from the Irish team and his lovely ‘new’ wife, Phillipa Johnson-Dwyer (South Africa), were stabled nearby, adding to the familiar atmosphere.”

McIntosh continued, “The club-like atmosphere at Quadrille, incorporating a restaurant just behind the judges’ tables and a lot of activity around the ring, was challenging but once again, Rio proved her worth as a no-nonsense competitor, completing her first team test at Grade 1a with a 69.2% for sixth place. A 68% (6th) in the individual test on day two highlighted my weak points but found us still competitive. The freestyle class presented a new set of challenges. As I was newly reclassified as a 1a (due to gradually but markedly increasing spasticity), I had not prepared an appropriate freestyle. The multi-talented Rachel Gross drew on her extensive musical knowledge to cobble together lovely music from the movie ‘Spirit’. Missy provided the choreography and we rode through the test once on Saturday evening. Rio delivered a very technically correct test (as I struggled to keep up with the music) to finish with a 69.9% in fifth place.”

McIntosh concluded, “We left Belgium having successfully accomplished the goals set many months ago. The riders and horses gained experience at very electric venues not found anywhere in the United States. The exposure to the high level of competition, so daunting in Deauville, became a matter of course in Moorsele. Rio’s scores have improved and become more consistent at every competition this spring. We have been judged several times by the same European five-star judges who have rewarded us with markedly higher scores at each outing. We are well-prepared for the June 2-5, 2014 National Championship and selection trials at the USET Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. I want to thank Missy Ransehousen and Rachel Gross for their inestimable coaching and horsemanship and to Rebecca Hart for her philosophy. I also want to thank all of our supporters and friends whose encouragement helped launch this trip of a lifetime; I am eternally grateful.”

Mary Jordan, who competed with Rubicon 75, explained the importance of competing in Europe: “Many words come to mind when I think about the experience of the two times I’ve gone to Europe to compete (European Championships in Norway 2009 leading up to the 2010 World Equestrian Games) and this spring (leading up to 2014 World Equestrian Games): incredible, thought-provoking, challenging, rewarding, intense, inspiring, enjoyable, and necessary. I say necessary because the scope of para-dressage overseas is much larger in terms of countries participating, the number of competitive riders involved, the public understanding of the sport, and the exposure riders get to FEI international judging panels. In the USA we may have between 5 to at the most 20+ rides at a CPEDI3*. Our selection trials for Beijing in 2008 accepted all five of the competitive riders. In 2010 there were about 14 riders prior to the World Equestrian Games and 25 in 2012 for the London Paralympics. In the U.S., we may only see riders from Canada or Mexico and maybe Bermuda. Contrast to Deauville, France and Moorsele, Belgium this year was like a mini-World Equestrian Games, with up to 70 riders from 19 countries participating. The Grade IVs, for example, had 19 horses entered and one was a Paralympic medalist with two horses. Another distinction: in the USA, anyone can ride in a CPEDI3*. In Great Britain, for example, any para-dressage rider has to first successfully complete the novice para-dressage tests to earn the scores to allow them to ride the FEI Team and Individual tests. Then they have to compete at those levels with consistent scores to be considered for anything further at a national level. Certain performance thresholds have to be met before people are allowed to ride at a CPEDI3*. Few countries do one selection trial for selecting teams and a greater emphasis is placed on consistent and demonstrated regular performance at top shows.”

Jordan continued, “I was blessed with the honor and opportunity to ride a new competition horse Rubicon 75 (Royal-Hit x Edelkarin/Absinthe) to compete overseas and develop a long-term partnership. Rubicon was owned by FEI dressage rider Catherine Haddad Staller and she donated him to Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center in Loxahatchee, Florida. I am grateful for the opportunity and truly enjoyed developing the partnership with this phenomenal horse. We spent our time getting to know each other and training with top medal-winning coaches and got the opportunity to ride before top international judges for some vital feedback to develop this young FEI horse’s future career. We won our first class in the UK in an able-body competition run by British Dressage in a class of 16 and were 2nd in a second class out of 22 entries with score in the 70s. We also earned our scores to compete in the USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship. The feedback from the judges was fantastic, supportive, and I was told he is a world class horse. He will be our prospect for the 2016 Rio Paralympics; I am so excited. The process and opportunity to compete gave me a truly valuable experience, confidence, a new sense of direction, organization and purpose, with key insights I can apply to future competitions and in my development as a rider. I felt an incredible sense of camaraderie meeting new riders and friends from Greece, Denmark, Canada, Holland and Great Britain. We are blessed to be in a unique sport where you can compete against people that inspire you.”

The United States Para-Equestrian Dressage athletes’ next stop will be the 2014 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship and Para-Dressage Selection Trials for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in August held in Normandy, France. The National Championship/Selection Trials will be held June 2-5, 2014, at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ.

Results from Moorsele, Belgium, CPEDI3*, April 25-27, 2014

Full results may be found at http://www.quadrille.bz/2012/index.php/EN/results-2014.

To view USA results from Deauville, France, CPEDI3*, April 4-6, 2014, go to http://uspea.org/april-8-2014-u-s-para-dressage-athletes-successful-overseas-at-cpedi3-in-deauville-france/.

Judges included: M. Orsini (GER), J Robinson (GBR), Marc Urban (BEL), S. Cunningham (AUS), P. Imshoot (Bel), E. Ebert (GER), and Anne Prain (FRA)

Written by: Lindsay Y McCall

To view an online version of this press release, please visit: http://uspea.org/category/recent-uspea-press-news/.

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.