Lexington, KY – US Equestrian has named four athlete-and-horse combinations to the U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team presented by Deloitte for the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018, which will take place September 11-23, 2018. Following the 2017-2018 selection period, the US Equestrian Board of Directors approved the following combinations for the FEI Nominated Entry List.
Rebecca Hart (Wellington, Fla.), Grade III, with El Corona Texel, Rowan O’Reilly’s nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding
Angela Peavy (Wellington, Fla.), Grade IV, with Royal Dark Chocolate, Rebecca Reno’s 10-year-old Oldenburg mare
Kate Shoemaker (Peoria, Ariz.), Grade IV, with Solitaer 40, the 11-year-old Hanoverian stallion she owns with Craig and Deena Shoemaker
Roxanne Trunnell (Rowlett, Texas), Grade I, and Kate Shoemaker’s Dolton, a six-year-old Hanoverian gelding
For more information about FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018, visit Tryon2018.com.
For more information about the USPEA, please visit www.USPEA.org or contact USPEA President: Hope Hand by e-mail: hope@uspea.org or by phone: (610)356-6481.
Wellington, FL – March 11, 2017 – Week nine of the 2017 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) features CPEDI 1*/2*/3* Para Dressage, presented by Mane Stream courtesy of Rowan O’Riley, Mission Control, Adequan®, and Nutrena.
2016 Paralympian Angela Peavy (USA) and Royal Dark Chocolate, a 2008 Oldenburg mare owned by Rebecca Reno, were once again victorious in the Para Team Test Grade IV – CPEDI 3*, with a score of 71.057%. The score was the second highest of the day’s competition.
Peavy has only been working with Royal Dark Chocolate, also known as “Cocoa”, for a little over a month.
“I love Cocoa,” said Peavy. “She’s very flowy and is a completely different energy level than I’m used to having, so I thought that it was a solid ride. We just need to get to know one another a little better, but she is just such a joy to ride and to be able to sit on such a quality horse makes me very happy.”
Peavy also commented on the future with her new mount. “Hopefully we make the team for the World Equestrian Games. I would also like to take her to Europe this summer, which is something we are still talking about. I’m going to show her here in the national shows in the next couple of weeks,” she said.
In regards to her time here at The Adequan® Global Dressage Festival, Peavy said, “It’s so generous of everyone to sponsor these shows and for allowing us to perform in this stadium to get a more international feel so we are ready to compete at that higher level. It’s really an honor to be here.”
Placing second to Peavy in the Para Individual Test Grade IV – CPEDI 3* was Pamela Hardin (USA) and Quarterjack, a 2005 Brandenburg gelding (Quaterman x Medea ii x Rohdiamant) owned by Hardin, with a score of 67.589%. Third place was awarded to Laura Hall (CAN) and Boo Sinclair, a 2006 KWPN gelding (Sir Sinclair x Onward O’Crimson) owned by Dr. Heather Boo, with a 65.203%.
Other classes of the day included the Para Individual Test Grade I – CPEDI 3*, which awarded a win to Jody Schloss (CAN) and Lieutenant Lobin, a 2004 Danish Warmblood gelding (Lobster x Farine) owned by Schloss, with a 71.250%. The Para Individual Test Grade II – CPEDI 3* was won by Laurietta Oakleaf (USA) and Niekele Fan Busenitz, a 2004 Friesian stallion (Sape 381 x Wemke H x Fetse 349) owned by Oakleaf, with a 70.784%. Charlotte Merle-Smith (USA) and Firewalker, a 2006 Westfalen gelding owned by Merle-Smith, took the winning ride in the Para Individual Test Grade III – CPEDI 3*, scoring 64.255%. Katie Jackson (USA) and Royal Dancer, a 2005 Westphalian gelding owned by Kai Handt, captured a win in the Para Individual Test Grade V – CPEDI 3* with a score of 69.921%.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Equestrian competition at the Rio Paralympic Games got underway at the Deodoro Equestrian Center Saturday with the horse inspection. A total of 76 athlete-and-horse combinations representing 29 countries, including 14 in the team competition, are set to compete over the course of the week for Paralympic medals and national pride. The U.S. will be represented by the team of Sydney Collier, Rebecca Hart, Margaret McIntosh, and Angela Peavy. Roxanne Trunnell will represent the U.S. in Individual competition. The U.S. squad is led by U.S. Para-Dressage Chef d’Equipe Kai Handt.
The U.S. athletes will compete as follows:
Sunday, September 11
Pathfinding for the U.S. will be Grade III athlete and first-time Paralympian Peavy (Avon, Conn. and Wellington, Fla.) riding Heather Blitz and Rebecca Reno’s Lancelot Warrior, a 2002 Hanoverian gelding. Peavy was the 2016 and 2015 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage High Performance Division Reserve National Champion. She and Lancelot Warrior were Team Gold medalists and Grade III Individual Champions at the Wellington CPEDI3* in January.
Grade Ib athletes will perform their Team tests Sunday afternoon. Representing the U.S. will be the youngest athlete in the field, Collier (Ann Arbor, Mich.), competing in her first Paralympics with Wesley Dunham’s 2003 Oldenburg mare, Western Rose. The pair began the year with strong placings at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival and went on to become the 2016 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage High Performance Division National Champions in June.
Monday, September 12
In Grade Ia, the U.S. team will see Margaret “Gigi” McIntosh (Reading, Pa.) and her longtime partner, Rio Rio, a 2006 Rheinland mare. Though Rio will mark the pair’s first team appearance in a Paralympic Games or World Championships, they have had consistent top results over the past three years. During this year’s winter season in Wellington, Fla., they posted five wins in Grade Ia CPEDI3* competition, including as members of the Gold medal-winning U.S. Team.
Also riding in the Grade Ia will be individual Trunnell (Rowlett, Texas) in her Paralympic debut, aboard Royal Dancer, Julia Handt’s 2005 Westphalian gelding. The pair has been competing at the international level together since early 2015 and have always placed within the top four. They were a part of the U.S. Team that clinched the Team Gold medal at the Wellington CPEDI3* in January.
Tuesday, September 13
Anchoring the U.S. Team will be two-time Paralympian Hart (Wellington, Fla,) with her own Schroeters Romani, a 2002 Danish Warmblood mare. Competing as a Grade II athlete, Hart won in all of her outings with Schroeters Romani during the winter season, also contributing to the Gold medal-win for the U.S. Team at the Wellington CPEDI3*.
Team medals will be awarded on Friday based on the top three scores from each team in both the Team and Individual tests. Individual tests begin on Tuesday with Grade III on Tuesday and continue Wednesday with Grades IV and Ib, and Thursday with Grades II and Ia. Medals will be awarded for the Individual tests. Freestyle tests take place on Friday with another set of medals being awarded to each grade.
Wellington, FL – January 8, 2016 – The first CPEDI 3* of the 2016 season, presented by Mane Stream, courtesy of Rowan O’Riley, Mission Control, Adequan®, and Nutrena at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival commenced today as para-dressage athletes from around North America took to the International Ring at The Stadium at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) for the first time in facility history. Riders representing the United States had a banner day, sweeping each of the classes offered on the first day of competition. The FEI CPEDI 3* will conclude on Sunday, January 10.
Rebecca Hart (USA) and her own Schroeter’s Romani won the FEI Para Team Test – Grade II class and recorded the highest score of the day, receiving a 74.167%. Angela Peavy (USA) and Lancelot Warrior, owned by Heather Blitz and Rebecca Reno, took top honors in the FEI Para Team Test – Grade III class with a score of 71.360%. Margaret McIntosh (USA) piloted her own Rio Rio to the lead in the FEI Para Team Test – Grade 1a with a score of 72.754% while Sydney Collier (USA) and Western Rose, owned by Wesley Dunham, took the FEI Para Team Test – Grade 1b with a score of 67.533% to give Team USA the lead moving into the final portion of team competition tomorrow.
Rebecca Hart is a veteran competitor for Team USA, having competed at the World Equestrian Games in 2014, Para-Equestrian World Championships, as well as the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England. Hart and Schroeter’s Romani continue to improve their scores with each outing, as the pair has their sights set on the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I loved our ride today. She has just been coming into her own in the past few months. We’ve tweaked a few things from what we did at Nationals this year, the main thing being that we’ve removed our stirrups, which can always be a little bit scary. It has really helped improve the connection and harmony that we’ve wanted and we’ll continue to get more comfortable with it,” explained Hart. “We’ve always had the power and expression that we’ve needed, but we wanted to make it smooth throughout the entire test.”
Hart explained that due to her physical condition, Familial Spastic Paraplegia (FSP), riding with stirrups would cause her lower legs to spasm, creating a slight hesitation from Romani. She continued, “I was talking to some of the European riders and they said take your stirrups off. We’ve been practicing for the past few months, but this is only our second competition trying it and I think it’s really smoothed out the whole picture.”
The duo earned the highest score of the day and Hart was pleased with the improvements the pair has made, hoping it will earn them a place on the selected team traveling to Rio later this year.
“I cannot thank the sponsors enough for supporting this show and helping us into the limelight, which is where we need to be, especially in a Paralympic year,” she noted. “The venue has been amazing accommodating and adapting our arenas with both the short and long ring. It has been a wonderful experience and is the perfect atmosphere to help us get prepped for Rio.”
Lauren Barwick (CAN) and Oynx followed in second place behind Hart, while Kelly Boccia (USA) aboard Donauwalzer CSF earned third place. Deborah Stanitski (USA) and Pilikua Koa finished in fourth.
Angela Peavy and Lancelot Warrior
Angela Peavy capped a phenomenal day aboard Lancelot Warrior, as the duo led the FEI Para Team Test – Grade III division on the first day of competition. Peavy, a rising star for the U.S. Paralympic team, rode an accurate test, which earned the high score for the division.
“I was very happy with Lance today. He really has stepped up in the past few months and I thought we had a great connection throughout the test. He was very forward and I was really pleased with our performance,” she commented. “He’s come a long way in two years and our experiences throughout that time have helped get us to this point.”
Competing in Wellington is especially exciting for Peavy, who will stay to compete at AGDF in the next CPEDI3* (Jan. 22-24), as well as test Fourth Level competition in the National Shows also hosted at the venue. She noted, “When you compete here it’s like being in your own backyard and you’re on your home turf. He’s used to this environment and I think that will help us as we look forward to qualifying for Rio.”
CPEDI 3* competition continues at AGDF tomorrow with the conclusion of team competition and will host individual competition through Sunday, January 10. For more information on the CPEDI 3*, please visit www.globaldressagefestival.com to find ride times and results.
About the Adequan Global Dressage Festival:
The Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) is one of the world’s largest international and national dressage circuits featuring 7 FEI Dressage events, including a 5* and the only FEI Nations’ Cup Series CDIO in the Western Hemisphere. The AGDF offers more than $650,000 in prize money for the seven international competitions, making it one of the richest circuits in the world. The Stadium at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center facility includes the Van Kampen covered arena (made possible by Kimberly and Frederic Boyer and family) and four outdoor arenas with world-class footing, 200 permanent stalls, and a VIP seating area.
Adequan Global Dressage Festival is located at
The Stadium at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center
13500 South Shore Blvd, Wellington, Florida 33414
Caen, France – Nations took the next steps in earning Para-Dressage Team medals, as riders also had their first opportunity to claim Individual medals at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games on Wednesday at the La Prairie Racecourse. Grade III and 1b combinations went to task throughout the day, as the U.S. was represented by Angela Peavy and Sydney Collier.
In the Grade III Championship, Peavy (Avon, Conn.), competing as an Individual, closed out her first World Championship experience in the Individual Test on Rebecca Reno’s Ozzy Cooper. In their second test of the World Games, the combination earned a score of 63.561% from the Ground Jury of Alison King, Eva Bachinger, Kjell Myhre, Hanneke Gerritsen, and Marco Orsini.
“I thought it went very well. He was very focused with me: more energetic, up and powerful. I was very happy with him, and I was more relaxed than the first day,” said Peavy. “He’s really focused on me, and we are in our own little bubble. We are very concentrated on his job and performing well.”
The pair finished the Grade III Team Test in 17th place.
Germany’s Hannelore Brenner and Women of the World earned the Gold medal in the Grade III Individual Test on a score of 73.610%, with The Netherlands’ Sanne Voets and Vedet PB N.O.P. claiming the Silver medal on a score of 72.053%, and Annika Lykke Risum and Aros A Fenris of Denmark earning the Bronze medal with a score of 69.868%.
Sydney Collier and Willi Wesley (SusanJStickle.com)
Collier (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Victoria Dugan’s Willi Wesley had a marked improvement in the Grade 1b Individual Test over their Team Test on Monday. The combination earned a score of 68.103% from the Ground Jury of Sarah Leitch, Anne Prain, Hanneke Gerritsen, Eva Bachinger, and Freddy Leyman. The 16-year-old was hoping to build on her performance from Monday and earn a finish within the top 12 in the Individual Test. They were able to do just that as she notched a ninth-place finish on Wednesday.
“That made me so happy. I really took Monday to just figure out what I needed to improve. I schooled him with that in mind. I was really happy with how that all came out,” said Collier. “My whole career has been leading up to this so far. For my first Games, I would be extremely thrilled with this outcome.”
The winners of the Grade 1b Individual Test Gold medal were Lee Pearson and Zion of Great Britain on a score of 77.310%. Pepo Puch and Fine Feeling S of Austria claimed the Silver medal on a score of 76.520%, with Silvia Veratti and Zadok of Italy earning a score of 72.00% and the Bronze medal.
Angela Peavy finished tenth with Ozzy Cooper in the Grade III team test on a score of 65.421 percent. CREDIT: SusanJStickle.com.
CAEN, NORMANDY, August 25, 2014 – The USA got off to a strong start in day 1 of para-equestrian dressage competition at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™.
First up was individual competitor Angela Peavy, 18, of Avon, Conn., who earned a tenth-place finish in the Grade III team test on a score of 65.421 percent. Peavy’s mount for the Games is Ozzy Cooper, an eight-year-old Trakehner gelding (Hibiskus x Arrak) owned by Rebecca Reno.
“It was great; he was a really good boy,” Peavy said of her mount afterward. “He was good, nice, and very focused. It was a very clean test.”
This WEG is Peavy’s first international competition, as it is likewise for her teammate Sydney Collier, 16, of Ann Arbor, Mich. Collier’s story – she is the youngest para-dressage competitor at these Games, and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) fact-checkers are busy trying to confirm their hunch that she may be the youngest competitor in all of the disciplines at this event – has charmed the media, as have Collier’s accounts of her service dog, a white Poodle named (appropriately) Journey, who is the first dog to receive a proper WEG accreditation, credential and all.
Aboard Willi Wesley, a fourteen-year-old Hessen gelding (Wolkenstein x Kokoschka) owned by Victoria Dugan, Collier earned a score of 65.960 percent in the Grade Ib team test, which put her in thirteenth place.
Willi Wesley trots to a thirteenth-place finish and a score of 65.960 percent in the Grade Ib team test with rider Sydney Collier. CREDIT: SusanJStickle.com
“It was an incredible experience to be riding with such amazing other riders,” Collier said afterward. “For my first time, my horse was super-well-behaved, and thankfully I don’t get nervous, because of my stroke,” she said, referring to the incident that changed her life at age 11.
WEG para-equestrian team dressage competition continues tomorrow, August 26. First up for Team USA will be 2010 WEG athlete Susan Treabess, who will ride Kamiakin in the Grade IV team test. Reigning six-time USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Champion, two-time Paralympian (2008 and 2012) and 2010 WEG athlete Rebecca Hart will contest the Grade II team test aboard her new mount, Schroeter’s Romani. And Roxanne Trunnell will ride Nice Touch in the Grade Ia team test.
Learn more about the U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage discipline or give a tax-deductible donation to support the development of the sport with the USPEA 501(c)(3)t: www.USPEA.org.
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.
