This originally appeared in the Equestrian Calendar – Aiken website email newsletter. Visit www.equestriancalendaraiken.com To see events happening in Aiken.
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My pony, Zoey, and I were lucky enough to make the long trip from Aiken, SC, to Lyman, ME for the Para-Equestrian Pipeline Clinic at Carlisle Academy. Carlisle Academy is a Premier Accredited PATH center and very involved in developing both athletes and coaches for para-equestrian sports. After receiving generous grants from both the Carlisle Charitable Foundation and the US Para-Equestrian Association, I packed up my pony and hit the road! A thousand miles later, we made it quite uneventfully in one piece.
I am a longtime driver and have competed in combined driving for many years. I have pseudoachondroplasia, a fancy way to say I am four feet tall. I have competed at the FEI World Championships for Drivers with Disabilities in the past, and won an Individual Gold and Team Silver at the 2008 World Championships. My pony, Zoey, is a Welsh Section C palomino mare. Originally, I had her started under saddle to help her driving, but it turns out she is a superstar under saddle as well. I began riding her about a year ago. While my coaches at home are very helpful, I had many questions specifically related to competing in Para-Dressage shows. Like, do I really need a super short saddle flap for my super short sausage legs? What dispensations can I have? Am I really not the same grade (level of disability) for riding as I was for driving? Is my pony good enough?
Two days after leaving Aiken, we turned up at Carlisle Academy hoping for answers and to learn a lot. Zoey is a super traveler, but this is the longest trip she has ever been on. Additionally, I compete a pair of ponies, so she generally does not travel alone. At first, she was pretty nervous about the whole deal. Now that is over, she is pretty sure she is the princess and most favorite pony. As a result, the first day we mostly went around and snorted at offensive things and bounced around on the super nice footing in their indoor ring. When you have short legs like I do, riding Zoey when she is bouncy can be interesting! Luckily, we had two days to settle in.
The following day, Wednesday, was designated the Para-Dressage Coaches Seminar and Rider Education Day. In the morning, everyone met at the host hotel for an overview of what the different grades and what type of disabilities are classified into what grade. The grading is actually quite complicated and precise, as this is what ensures all athletes are on a level playing field. Each grade has its own specific dressage tests and movements. Also covered were the different dispensations and modifications riders can use to help them compete to the best of their ability.
In the afternoon, they had riders demonstrate each Grades’ FEI team test while an FEI Judge commentated about each movement and what the judges are looking for. I was asked to ride the Grade 1a and Grade 1b Team tests. These tests are for the most disabled grades, so I thought no problem, shouldn’t be too hard. Wrong. Riding a dressage test while the judge is pointing out all your mistakes is totally nerve-wracking. Especially when it includes lots of walking and your pony is now nervous because you are. So, we were helpful and provided lots of mistakes for the judge to talk about! Afterward, there was a panel discussion with athletes who have been on previous international teams. It was very interesting to me that the oldest member of the 2014 WEG team was 30. So drastically different from driving!
Thursday was our first clinic lesson with the USEF Chef D’Equipe for Para-Dressage, Kai Handt. Zoey was still a bit nervous, so we worked a lot on getting her to pay attention to me. Ideas were: saddle with smaller/no blocks, saddle with shorter flaps to get my leg on my pony. Work on straightness. The following days, Zoey was pretty relaxed and her normal self. Those days, we worked on getting her to overtrack in the walk, not getting her behind the vertical, and our general tempo. We also learned about custom whips, reins, saddle attachments and other things that may or may not work for us. Zoey showed everyone how she likes to whip her forelock around when she is feeling sassy. I tried (and succeeded, thankfully) not to fall off her head when she was attacked by and kicked at giant biting flies.
Other activities at the symposium included physical therapy and occupational therapy consultations, saddle fitting, massage therapy (for the horses), and holistic health care (for the people). All of these are a concern for able bodied riders, but can become much more complicated depending on your disability. All of the speakers were very knowledgeable and helpful with ideas for everyone. I also got to hear about the 2012 Paralympic Gold Medalists’ preparation for the Paralympics and get a lesson from her trainer, Clive Milkins.
Everyone was super positive about Zoey and my potential to be competitive at paradressage shows, so that was encouraging!
Sadly, the clinic came to an end and we had to trek back to South Carolina. We got stuck behind a 20-car pile up on I-81 in Maryland, but better behind than in the middle. Zoey was unfazed by our multi hour delay, but was happy to see her pals when she returned home.
