Willinga CPEDI a great success

There was some brilliant competition at the Willinga Park CPEDI over the past couple of days with many great scores by our para-athletes.

Following the completion of the Grand Prix A and Grand Prix B tests at Willinga last weekend, 24 Australian athletes (36 combinations) in total have now achieved the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs) for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The period for achieving MERs is 1 January 2022 to 19 June 2024. 10 of these combinations achieved their MER this weekend!

To be eligible for nomination to the Australian Equestrian Team for the 2024 Paralympic Games combinations must, in addition to the MERs, achieve a score of at least 67% in a Grand Prix A or Grand Prix B test in at least two CPEDIs between 1 October 2023 and 19 June 2024. After the Willinga Park CPEDI 9 athletes (11 combinations) have already achieved at least one score of 67% or higher. Of those, 3 athletes have achieved above 67% at two CPEDIs: Chelsea de Jonge (Grade V), Dianne Barnes (Grade IV) and Stella Barton (Grade I).

On 4 March 2024 the FEI will notify Paralympics Australia how many equestrian qualification slots Australia has been allocated for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. This will determine how many athlete/horse combinations can be selected for the Australian Paralympic Team.

After the Willinga Park event there will be another 25 CPEDIs around the world before the 19th of June MER deadline. The next CPEDI in Australia will be at Boneo Park, Victoria on 11-14 April 2024.

The winners of the tests CPEDI2* and CPEDI3* A and B tests are listed below and full results can be found at: https://bit.ly/4bFjras

FRIDAY

CPEDI2* Intermediate Test A

Grade V - Heidi Ford and ‘Rikaardt H’ 57.738%

Grade VI - Darcy MacAulay and ‘Parklands Faltango’ 66.000%

Grade III - Anne Skinner and ‘Ballangeich Run Filou’ 65.238%

CPEDI3* Grand Prix Test A

Grade V – Lisa Martin and ‘Vilaggio’ 69.786%

Grade VI - Zoe Vorenas and ‘Salmour’ 70.093%

Grade III - Samantha Hawes and ‘Gotico Park Estralo’ 58.056%

Grade II - Victoria Davies and ‘Celere’ 67.299%

Grade I - Stella Barton and ‘Lord Larmarque’ 71.458%

SATURDAY

CPEDI2* Intermediate Test B

Grade V - Heidi Ford and ‘Rikaardt H’ 63.081%

Grade VI - Brooke Neville and ‘Cera Conquest’ 61.021%

Grade III - Anne Skinner and ‘Ballangeich Run Filou’ 60.199%

CPEDI3* Grand Prix Test B

Grade V – Lisa Martin and ‘Vilaggio’ 71.316%

Grade VI - Zoe Vorenas and ‘Salmour’ 69.910%

Grade III - Samantha Hawes and ‘Gotico Park Estralo’ 55.500%

Grade II - Victoria Davies and ‘Celere’ 66.889%

Grade I - Stella Barton and ‘Lord Larmarque’ 73.681%