Sport Profile: Equestrian
Carriage Driving at the 2002 World Championships
Jonquil Solt has been an
active volunteer in sport
for persons with a disability
since 1965. She developed
Equestrian sport for people
with a disability in Great
Britain from 1980 to 1990
and was elected founder
Vice-Chairperson of the
International Paralympic
Equestrian Committee
(I.P.E.C.) in 1991. In 1995,
Mrs. Solt became IPC
Chairperson of Equestrian.
The Paralympian: When was an Equestrian competition on the Paralympic programme for the first time? What is the history behind the sport? Jonquil Solt: Dressage competitions were started in England and in Scandinavia in the 1970s. The first Dressage World Championships were organised by Charlotte von Arbin in Sweden in 1987. Eight nations competed, and for the first time the sport was multi-disability. I.P.E.C. was founded in 1991 with Birck Jakobsen of Denmark as Chairperson. Equestrian sport first entered the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, in 1996. The sport has grown and grown and we have had 36 of our 40 nations enter for the 2003 World Championships which will be held in Belgium this autumn. TP: Equestrian uses a functional classification system that enables athletes from different disability groups with the same abilities to compete together. How does this work? JS: Equestrian uses a classification system that was refined by Dr. Chris Meaden (PhD MCSP). The system has been universally accepted and it is liked and understood by both riders and officials. I.P.E.C. has run a great number of classification courses. Qualified physiotherapists or medical doctors, who demonstrate their competence after attending one of these courses, can be I.P.E.C. accredited. All our riders are classified according to the degree of their measurable impairment. Each rider has to be examined by one or more accredited classifiers and is given a functional profile. For dressage competitors, the profiles are grouped together into four Grades; for carriage driving, two Grades. These are designed so that the athletes in each of the Grades can fairly compete against one another. TP: Various Dressage tests exist. What are they and could you briefly explain what they imply? JS: Dressage just means training, and training has always been needed for horses, especially those used for fighting, sport and entertainment. Dressage tests can be compared to a mixture of ballet and gymnastics performed in harmony by two living beings. The tests are judged by I.P.E.C. accredited judges. Each test sets out the movements that the horse has perform. The judges mark each movement out of ten (similar to ice skating). The rider needs to show the horse in good balance and rhythm, free from resistance, supple and with a high degree of accuracy. Each Grade, or group of classified riders, has its own set of tests; the tests within each Grade range from Novice to Grand Prix level. Our tests have all been especially written for our riders, overseen by Inger Bryant since 1996. They are designed for safety, to challange the able and talented riders but without discouraging the less able, and so that they can be ridden fluently. They do not favour any particular disability, and they test the skill of the rider, rather than the ability of the horse. TP: Which disability groups can compete in Equestrian competitions? JS: Athletes with visual and/or physical impairments can compete in Equestrian sport. Their impairment must be measurable and be of sufficient severity to cause some disadvantage when competing against non-disabled riders. Our grading allows intellectually disabled riders to be included when they become eligible again to compete in IPC events. |
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TP: Which kind of equipment and assistance does a visually
impaired or blind athlete need to be able to participate in
Dressage?
JS: Dressage tests are ridden in an arena of standard size, round which there are eight location points marked with letters. For example, a test may require a rider to trot from M to K, or to canter a 10m circle at F. Most visually impaired (as opposed to blind) riders just need larger letters around the arena. Blind (B1) competitors are required to ride their test wearing a blindfold, so that they are genuinely blind. These riders may have “callers” standing round the arena at each of these letters calling out their position. Most blind riders quickly find out how to ride round the arena correctly. Some count the horse’s strides; many seem to have a sixth sense. Ann-Cecile Orr of Norway, the winner of the silver medal for her Grade in Sydney, just has one person blowing a whistle as she passes each letter.We encourage athletes to ride with the minimum assistance they feel necessary. TP: Which equipment and support measures exist for other disability groups? JS: There is a wide range of compensating aids, depending on the impairment of each individual. They can include one or two whips (to be used gently, to replace weak or missing legs); a strap from the stirrup or stirrup leather to the girth; rubber bands from foot to stirrup; a bar at the top of the reins for people who can only use one hand; and a neck strap and/or looped reins. Some riders with short memories may have their tests commanded (read out loud) from outside arena. Under a co-operative agreement with the FEI (the nondisabled International Equestrian Federation), our riders can have a joint I.P.E.C./FEI identification card, which states their classification and the compensating aids they are allowed. They may also use their ID cards if they wish to compete against non-disabled riders. TP: The Carriage Driving World Championships took place in September last year. Are you satisfied with the outcome? JS: The 3rd World Championships were held in Germany and were very successful. As are many of our competitions, it was integrated within a national championships for non-disabled carriage drivers.A total of 23 competitors representing nine nations took part. The high cost of transporting horses, carriages and sets of harness as well as two or three people for each competitor, is a deterrent for many nations. However, the small number of entries in no way reflects the large number of carriage drivers enjoying their sport around the world. Part II of the Equestrian sport’s profile will follow in the next issue of The Paralympian. 
Dressage has been on the Paralympic programme since 1996
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