Para Equestrian Dressage for the First Time at the Australian Dressage Championships

Hannah Dodd - Grand Sam 
At the 2013 NSW Dressage Championships 

Gold Medallist Paralympian Joann Formosa will travel from Victoria to compete on her chestnut stallion Worldwide PB, showing the impressive paces that earned him such great scores last year in London in Grade 1b.

A State Teams Competition will include riders from Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland. Fifteen horses will compete in the FEI PE Dressage Team, Championship and Freestyle Tests. Aggregate scores from the Team and Individual Championship Tests decide the Teams winners and placegetters.

London Paralympic Team Member and 2013 NSW Grade IV Para Equestrian Champion Hannah Dodd will be riding Grand Sam at the event. Judges for the event include Jan Geary (FEI PE 5* Judge), Sue Cunningham (FEI PE 4* Judge), and Kyli Bullock (FEI PE 3* Judge).

SIEC will be familiar territory for many of the Para riders, as selection events for the Paralympics were held at the beautifully appointed venue last year.

In November, Werribee Park Equestrian Centre will again host an international Para Equestrian event.  The first CPEDI3* for 2013 in FEI Region VIII, it will be part of the Dressage Festival of Victoria.

Most riders competing in the Para-Equestrian competitions at the Australian Dressage Championships, as well as a contingent travelling from WA, will head to Werribee to pit their skills against visiting teams from other countries in our FEI Region.

For the CPEDI3*, President of the Ground Jury will be Anne Prain from France, and also judging will be Chris Porterfield (FEI PE 4*) from Great Britain and Alison King (FEI PE 5*) from Hong Kong. Chris Porterfield will also be FEI Technical Delegate, and Veronica Steward will be FEI Chief Steward. Joining the guest judges on the Ground Jury will be FEI PE 4* Judges Sue Cunningham and Wendy Barker.

Julia Battams,  Dressage and Para Equestrian High Performance Manager for Equestrian Australia, said, ‘The WEG in Normandy is less than a year away, and these events provide great opportunities for our riders to gain valuable experience for competitions on the world stage.’