Paralympic Games 2012 - Equestrian

Where: Greenwich Park

When: Thursday 30th Aug – Tuesday 4th Sept 2012

Medal Events: 11

Athletes: 78

Athletes with a disability have long taken part in Equestrian activities, originally as a means of rehabilitation and recreation. Para-Equestrian Dressage developed in the 1970s, with the first events held in Great Britain and Scandinavia. The multi-disability sport has since spread around the world, and athletes from more than 40 countries now compete on a regular basis.

The Basics
At the Paralympic Games, athletes compete in three Dressage tests: a Team Test (with three to four riders per team), an Individual Championship Test, and a Freestyle Test, for which athletes choose their own movements and music. Through the tests, horse and rider must be in harmony, and the overall picture must be of lightness and rhythm.

The results of the Team and Individual Championship Tests are then added together to make the Team score, with the best three scores of a team of four counting. Individual medals are also awarded on the merit of both the Individual Championship Test and the Freestyle Test. All riders, whether competing in a team or not, may ride in the Team Test.

The athletes are classified across five grades, which determine the complexity of the movements that the riders perform with their horses.

Grade Ia is for athletes whose impairment has the greatest impact on their ability to ride, through to Grade IV for athletes whose impairment has the least impact on their ability to ride.

These grades ensure that the tests can be judged on the skill of the rider, regardless of their disability. Riders may use permitted assistive devices such as dressage crops, connecting rein bars and the like; visually impaired riders are permitted to use ‘callers’ to help them navigate around the arena.


Paralympic Equestrian - Past & Present
Equestrian events first appeared on the Paralympic programme at the 1984 Games held in Stoke Mandeville (UK) and New York (US), and have featured at every Games since Atlanta 1996.

For London 2012, the Equestrian competition will be held in the beautiful surroundings of Greenwich Park. Dating back to 1433, it is the oldest Royal Park in London, part of the Maritime Greenwich area that has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Jargon Buster
- Canter: A steady controlled gait for which three of the horse’s legs are off the ground at once.

- Full-pass: When a horse moves sideways, bent in the direction of movement.

- Half-pass: When a horse moves forwards and sideways at the same time, bent in the direction of movement.

- Self-carriage: When a horse moves in balance without support from the reins



Courtesy of http://www.london2012.com