Canadian Para-Dressage Team Ready for Action at Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

The Canadian Para-Dressage Team, comprised of Robyn Andrews of St. John’s, NF, Lauren Barwick of Reddick, FL, Ashley Gowanlock of Surrey, BC and Roberta Sheffield of Lincolnshire, GBR are ready to get underway at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, BRA.

Para-dressage competition kicks off at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in the Deodoro zone of Rio on Sept. 11 with the Team Test for Grade III and Grade 1b and runs for six consecutive days, wrapping up on Sept. 16 with the Freestyle for all four grades.

In preparation for competition, all four Canadian horses were presented at the official horse inspection on Aug. 10, and were accepted. A total of 76 horses from 29 countries participated in the horse inspection.

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Canadian Para-Dressage Team Assistant Coach and Horse Trainer, Clive Milkins, jogs Roberta Sheffield’s horse, Double Agent, during the horse inspection at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.© Jon Stroud

The first competitor into the stadium for Canada on Sept. 11 will be Sheffield, 35, who is making her Paralympic debut for Canada in the Grade III division aboard Double Agent, her nine-year-old Anglo European mare sired by Donnersohn. While new to the Paralympics, Sheffield has been competing internationally for Canada since 2013, including the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in France, where she earned top 10 results across the board.

Di Scansano, to be ridden by Ashley Gowanlock at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, is presented at the horse inspection by groom, Tori Elly-Murray. © Jon Stroud

Also competing on Sept. 11 is Gowanlock, 29, now a three-time Paralympian in the Grade 1b division. Gowanlock will be competing with Di Scansano (De Niro x Rubenstein), a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Wendy Christoff. Despite being a brand new partnership, since pairing up in June 2016, Gowanlock and Di Scansano have already earned impressive results, achieving a hat trick by winning all three Grade 1b classes at the CPEDI 3* Touch of Class, held June 9-12 in Langley, BC.

Groom, Sarah-Lee Hamelin jogs Robyn Andrews’ mount, Fancianna, during the horse inspection at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games on Sept. 10. © Jon Stroud

Andrews, 33, will make history as the first equestrian Paralympian from Newfoundland on Sept. 12, competing in the Grade 1a Team Test aboard her long-time partner, Fancianna, a 15-year-old Friesian/Andalusian mare. Andrews has been competing at the CPEDI level internationally for six years, and was part of the Canadian Para-Dressage Team at WEG 2014.

Lauren Barwick’s Rio 2016 Paralympic Games partner, Onyx, is presented by groom, Traudel Bongers in the horse inspection. © Jon Stroud

Canada’s final rider to complete the Team Test will be Barwick, who will be celebrating her 39th birthday in Rio on Sept. 12. Rio marks Barwick’s fourth consecutive Paralympic Games. She will kick off Rio with the Grade II Team Test on Sept. 13, riding Onyx, a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Equestrian Canada and sired by Wolkentanz. To date, Barwick has won more medals at major games than any other Canadian rider, and her impressive Games record includes individual gold and silver medals from Beijing 2008.

“I will wear the Canadian maple leaf at my fourth Paralympic Games with the utmost pride,” said Barwick, who was inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame in 2015. “I’m excited to work together with my teammates to inspire and motivate Canadians to achieve personal excellence.”

For more information on para-dressage at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, please visit www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/equestrian. Further information on the Canadian Equestrian Team can be found at www.equestrian.ca.