All U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team Horses Pass Jog in Rio

© Annan Hepner : Rebecca Hart and Schroeter's Romani Rebecca Hart and Schroeter’s Romani 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Sept. 10, 2016 – The horse inspection at the Rio Paralympic Games got underway at the Deodoro Equestrian Center Saturday and all U.S. horses passed the jog. A total of 76 athlete-and-horse combinations representing 29 countries, including 14 in the team competition, are set to compete over the course of the week for Paralympic medals and national pride. The U.S. will be represented by the team of Sydney Collier, Rebecca Hart, Margaret McIntosh, and Angela Peavy. Roxanne Trunnell will represent the U.S. in individual competition. The U.S. squad is led by U.S. Para-Dressage Chef d’Equipe Kai Handt.

The U.S. athletes will compete as follows:

Sunday, September 11
First-time Paralympian Angela Peavy, from Avon, Conn. and Wellington, Fla., will be competing Heather Blitz and Rebecca Reno’s 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Lancelot Warrior in the Grade III competition. Peavy was the 2016 and 2015 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage High Performance Division Reserve National Champion. She and Lancelot Warrior were Team Gold medalists and Grade III Individual Champions at the Wellington CPEDI3* in January.

Grade Ib athletes will also perform their Team tests Sunday afternoon. Representing the U.S. will be the youngest athlete in the field, Sydney Collier of Ann Arbor, Mich., competing in her first Paralympics with Wesley Dunham’s 13-year-old Oldenburg mare, Western Rose. The pair began the year with strong placings at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival and went on to become the 2016 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage High Performance Division National Champions in June.

© Annan Hepner : Sydney Collier and Western RoseSydney Collier and Western Rose

Monday, September 12
In Grade Ia, the U.S. team will see Margaret “Gigi” McIntosh from Reading, Pa. and her longtime partner, Rio Rio, a 10-year-old Rheinland mare. Though Rio will mark the pair’s first team appearance in a Paralympic Games or World Championships, they have had consistent top results over the past three years. During this year’s winter season in Wellington, Fla., they posted five wins in Grade Ia CPEDI3* competition, including as members of the Gold medal-winning U.S. Team.

Also riding in the Grade Ia will be individual Trunnell from Rowlett, Texas in her Paralympic debut, aboard Royal Dancer, Julia Handt’s 11-year-old Westphalian gelding. The pair has been competing at the international level together since early 2015 and have always placed within the top four. They were a part of the U.S. Team that clinched the Team Gold medal at the Wellington CPEDI3* in January.

Tuesday, September 13
Anchoring the U.S. Team will be two-time Paralympian Hart of Wellington, Fla., with her own Schroeters Romani, a 14-year-old Danish Warmblood mare. Competing as a Grade II athlete, Hart won in all of her outings with Schroeters Romani during the winter season, also contributing to the Gold medal-win for the U.S. Team at the Wellington CPEDI3*.

Team medals will be awarded on Friday based on the top three scores from each team in both the Team and Individual tests. Individual tests begin on Tuesday with Grade III on Tuesday and continue Wednesday with Grades IV and Ib, and Thursday with Grades II and Ia. Medals will be awarded for the Individual tests. Freestyle tests take place on Friday with another set of medals being awarded to each grade.

© Annan Hepner : Angela Peavy and Lancelot Warrior Angela Peavy and Lancelot Warrior 

Keep up-to-date on equestrian competition at the Rio Paralympic Games on USEFNetwork.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Coverage includes schedules, results, athlete bios, behind-the-scenes photos, and more.

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