Paralympic Equestrian

Equestrian sports have been a longstanding sport for those with disabilities. As with many of the other paralympic sports, equestrian sports were originally developed as a way of rehabilitation, particularly as a result of war injuries. Para-equestrianism became a sport in the 1970s in relation to dressage. Since the beginning, the equestrian events have expanded dramatically and now involve around forty different countries taking part across all events.

Dressage does not differ in the Paralympics from the dressage sport in the able bodied Olympic Games. Competitors are judged on how they and their horse perform a series of tests, all on the flat.

As with all equestrian events, the sex of the participants is irrelevant, although in the Paralympics athletes are judged against those with similar functional abilities to ensure fairness. Competitors can compete at five different levels which reflect the complexity of the dressage test that they are being asked to perform. Within the five classes there is an individual test where the movements being performed are set by the judges and the freestyle which involves music and allows users total freedom in terms of choice of moves.

There are also team competitions. The first time that the equestrian sports were seen in the Paralympics was the 1996 Atlanta games. This involved 16 teams with a further 8 teams joining for the 2000 games. By 2004, the competitors were using their own horses and there were 38 teams present.