Following their great success at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in France last summer, Canadian Para-Equestrian Team riders, Robyn Andrews, Lauren Barwick, Ashley Gowanlock and Roberta Sheffield have been reunited once again in Europe in a bid to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games next September.
The team is set to compete at three FEI CPEDI 3* competitions during a Summer European Tour, consisting of:
• CPEDI3* Mulhouse, France – June 19-21
• CPEDI 3* Uberherrn, Germany – July 3-5
• CPEDI 3* Hartpury, United Kingdom – July 8-10
Three-time Paralympian and 2014 WEG individual silver and bronze medalist, Lauren Barwick of Aldergrove, B.C. will ride Equine Canada’s 14-year-old Oldenburg mare, Off to Paris (Welthit 01 x Uniform). Ashley Gowanlock of Surrey, B.C., a two-time Paralympian, will compete with Barwick’s 16-year-old Oldenburg mare, Ferdonia 2 (Don Gregory x Castro). Robyn Andrews of St. Johns, N.L. will be partnered with her 14-year-old Friesian / Andalusian cross mare, Fancianna, while Roberta Sheffield of Lincolnshire, UK will be aboard her eight-year-old Anglo-European Studbook (AES) mare, Double Agent, sired by Donnersohn.
Supporting the team during various stages of the Summer European Tour will be Mary Longden and Andrea Taylor (Team Coaches), Elizabeth Quigg (Chef d’Équipe), Dirk Stroda (Mental Coach), Amie O’Shaughnessy (Equine Canada High Performance Director), Anna Johnson (Equine Canada Para-Equestrian Manager), Dr Jennifer Miller (Team Veterinarian), Caroline Archambault (Team Massage Therapist), and Hannah Goodwin, Katie Quinn, Tori Murray-Elley, and Kerry-Anne Bourne (Grooms).
The Canadian Para-Equestrian Team’s Summer European Tour has been made possible through the Own the Podium program, a national sport technical initiative designed to help Canada’s summer and winter athletes achieve podium success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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