SOME 78 horse and rider combinations are arriving in Versailles, Paris, this weekend ahead of the beginning of the para dressage competition at the Paris Paralympic Games which begins on Tuesday, September 3rd.

There will be 33 medals awarded over two individual and one team competition and eyeing up those medals is Ireland’s para dressage high performance director Debora Pijpers. For the Dutch native dressage rider, it is her second Games in charge of the Irish para dressage team and she is relishing the journey.

“The last few weeks have been great. The atmosphere within the group has been amazing,” Pijpers told The Irish Field on the eve of meeting up with the team in Paris. “I have to think that everybody really wants to support each other and trust each other which I’m very pleased with. I feel a lot of excitement also within the group, for two riders it is their first Games.”

Pijpers was preparing to link up with her team and the Horse Sport Ireland support staff in Paris on Tuesday, and they took part in the opening ceremony on Wednesday night. The horses were due to arrive in Versailles yesterday (Friday). The athletes will be staying in the Paralympic village for the duration of the Games.

Team work

Speaking about each of the athletes, Pijpers is proud of the work they have put in up to this point. “When you see Jessica [McKenna] and her horse, you can really see that they have a great bond together and that Jessica really adores him. And it also shows when they ride, they are a very harmonious pair. It’s amazing to see how they have grown in a relatively short partnership; they have been riding at international level now for only two years, and they qualified first for the Europeans and now for the Paralympic Games.”

Speaking about the second Paralympic debutante, Sarah Slattery, Pijpers said: “Sarah’s father [Tom] is a very experienced show jumper and her sister is also a professional show jumper. She got into para dressage a little bit later, but it’s an amazing story. Last year she had a baby and she still managed to qualify for the European Championships. Sarah has a very good relationship with her private trainer, Neils Bax, and in a relatively short space of time, she has really developed into an athlete that can compete at the top level.”

For Kate Kerr Horan, who rode at the Tokyo Games, she has had a late horse change with the nine-year-old Lykkebo’s Don Akino coming in for the injured Serafina. “This is a new partnership, and I think it’s an amazing horse for the future. He’s still new at this level, of course, so it’s relatively new for the horse but he has shown he is in great form and great shape. They are still growing as a partnership but what they have shown so far is very nice.”

The biggest medal hopes of course lie on the shoulders of Michael Murphy who won two bronze medals at the 2022 World Championships and silver at last year’s Europeans. “Michael really has a top athlete mentality,” Pijpers said. “He is not focusing on the medal at all, but he’s focusing on really getting everything out of the horse and he is focusing on riding a good test. He wants to show the best version of himself and the best version of his horse, and that’s his main goal.”

Pijpers will declare her team of three after the first individual competition ends on Wednesday, before everyone has a break ahead of the team final on Friday, September 6th.

What is the goal of the Games?

“We know it is an ambitious goal, but we are aiming for top 10 with the team. But most importantly, what we are aiming for is every individual rider knows what they want to prove in order to be at their best. And if that’s something that can do, I’m really happy.”

The format

The Paralympic dressage competitions begin with the individual test, known as the FEI Para Grand Prix A, across all five grades. This will take place on Tuesday, September 3rd and Wednesday, September 4th. Next is the team test (FEI Para Grand Prix B) for team medals on Friday, September 6th. The top eight in each grade from the individual test will compete for a set of Freestyle medals next Saturday, September 7th.

All four riders will ride the individual test, before Irish team manager Debora Pijpers will choose her team of three for the team competition. Each team must include at least one rider who is in grade one, two or three, and there must not be more than two athletes in the same grade in a team. Each combination rides a set test specifically for their grade. The scores of all three team members in this test count towards the team total to decide the team medals.

Schedule

Tues, Sept 3rd: Individual (Grade I, II, III)

Wed, Sept 4th: Individual (Grade IV, V)

Fri, Sept 6th: Team (Multiple grades)

Sat, Sept 7th: Freestyle (All grades)