Ottawa, Ontario—Canadian Para-Dressage rider Lauren Barwick of Aldergrove, BC, won an Individual Silver medal following the Grade II Individual Championship Test today at the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games held at the Sha Tin equestrian venue in Hong Kong, China.

Riding Maile, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned by Christine Murphy Ksionek and Pat and Linda Parelli, Barwick scored 68.454%, which earned her the silver medal.

The gold medal was won by Germany’s Britta Naepel riding Cherubin 15 with a score of 71.909%. Denmark’s Caroline Cecile Nielsen claimed the bronze medal, with a score of 68.182% paired with Rostorn’s Hatim-Tinn.

Also competing in the Grade II Individual Championship Test was Jenifer McKenzie. A resident of Maple Ridge, BC, McKenzie and her horse Valentine II, a 13-year-old Canadian Warmblood finished in 16th place with 56.818%.

In the Grade IV Individual Championship Test, Eleonore Elstone of Langley, BC, and Lutke, Terry Bianco’s seven-year-old Freisian stallion, finished in 11th place with 59.807%, and Karen Brain of Saanichton, BC, and her horse, VDL Odette, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare earned a score of 59.097% for 12th. 

The Para-Dressage competition continues tomorrow, September 9, when Ashley Gowanlock of Vancouver, BC, will ride the Grade 1b Individual Championship Test.

“Lauren’s silver medal was a great team effort,” remarked Elizabeth Quigg-Robinson, the Canadian Para-Dressage Chef d’équipe. “We are ecstatic with the result; this is a great medal for Canada.”

“By bringing home a medal at the first possible opportunity, Lauren has re-affirmed Canada’s place as one of the foremost Para-Equestrian nations in the world,” stated Equine Canada CEO, Akaash Maharaj.   “We are tremendously proud of her, her achievement at the Paralympics, and her success in raising the bar for all athletes across Canada and across international equestrianism.”

Yesterday, the overall Team Championship first round, the Team Test, was held. The Team medals are determined by combining the scores from the Team Test and the Individual Championship Test from all team members.

 In the Grade II Team Test, Barwick and Maile scored 67.619%, which secured her second place, while McKenzie and Valentine II finished in 11th place with 57.047%.

 Elstone riding Lutke finished in ninth place with 62.357% in the Grade IV Team Test. 

 Riding Alexander Mitchell’s 11-year-old Hanoverian, Donnymaskell, Gowanlock earned a score of 63.059% for fourth place in the Grade 1b Team Test.

 The Para-Dressage competition continues with all the Canadians riding the Individual Championship Test tomorrow and Tuesday.

 For Canadian athlete biographies, venue information and competition dates, please visit the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games section of the Equine Canada website. Complete 2008 Para-Dressage results may be found at http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/EQ.shtml.

 The XIIIth Paralympic Summer Games will be held in Beijing, China, from September 6–17, 2008. The equestrian events are taking place in Hong Kong from September 7–11, 2008, with nine nations contesting top honours in the team competition and riders from 30 countries vying for medals in the five grades of individual competition. Canadian Karen Brain will be trying to defend the two individual bronze medals that she won at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games.

 

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