Robyn Andrews of St. John’s, NF made her Paralympic debut in the Grade 1a Team Test on Sept. 12 at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, BRA.
After stepping into the ring, Andrews, 33, also became the first equestrian in history to represent Newfoundland in the Paralympic Games. Riding Fancianna, her 15-year-old Friesian/Andalusian, Andrews scored 62.696% in her highly competitive grade to finish in 24th place.
Sophie Christiansen of Great Britain won the Grade 1a Team Test on a score of 77.52% with Athene Lindebjerg, while her teammate, Anne Dunham, took second riding LJT Lucas Normark (73.957%). Third place went to Elke Philipp of Germany and Regaliz on a score of 73.913%.
When asked about the feeling of making her Paralympic debut, Andrews summed it up in one word: “Amazing.”
She continued, “It’s very special (to have been the first equestrian Paralympian from Newfoundland).”
“I like pressure, I like all the pressure of doing what the horse does – I’m in control of that, and I like it,” explained Andrews, who has been competing for Canada aboard Fancianna internationally for six years, and represented Canada at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games.
Andrews’ Team Test marked the third Canadian score toward the overall provisional team standings, putting Canada into 12th place after two days of competition. Ashley Gowanlock of Surrey, BC, and Roberta Sheffield of Lincolnshire, GRB competed on opening day of para-dressage competition, finishing in seventh and 10th place, respectively. The final Canadian rider to complete the Team Test will be Lauren Barwick, a native of Langley, BC, who will be making her fourth Paralympic appearance on Sept. 13 in the Grade II division.
The Individual Test portion of competition also gets underway on Sept. 13 with the Grade III division, which will see Sheffield compete. Gowanlock’s Individual Test will take place on Sept. 14, with Barwick and Andrews’ to follow on Sept. 15. The top three scores from the Team and Individual tests will be combined for each country to decide the Team medals. Individual medals will also be awarded in each Grade for the Individual and Freestyle Tests. All four Freestyle classes will take place on Sept. 16 to close out para-dressage competition at the Games.
For more information on para-dressage at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, including the full schedule of equestrian competition and live results, please visit www.rio2016.com/en/paralympics/equestrian.
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