Victoria Davies’ Celere (Grade II) during the trot up with groom Shae Herwig on Thursday at Willinga Park. Image: EQ Life.
Excitement builds ahead of first Paralympic qualifier of the year
By Equestrian Life
Picturesque Willinga Park on the NSW south coast will be the backdrop for the first Paralympic qualifier of the year from this Friday, as an impressive field of 24 CPEDI3* combinations look to post scores that will launch them into contention for Paris team selection.
On the road to Paris
To be considered for Australian team selection for the Paris Paralympics, a combination must compete in two CPEDI 3* events between 1 January and 19 of June, and they must receive an overall percentage score of 67% or above in a Grand Prix Test A or B in at least two CPEDI 3* events between 1 October 2023 and 19 June 2024.
Grade I competitor Stella Barton and Lord Larmarque caught everyone’s eye at the Australian Dressage Championships last year when after only a short time together they posted scores of 72.361% and 74.4% in the Grand Prix A and Grand Prix B Tests.
Other riders competing at Willinga Park who have also posted scores over 67% in the qualifying period include Maddison Cooke and Byalee Magic II (Grade II), Dianne Barnes and Sorena (Grade IV), Kirsty Van Loon and HV Dante (Grade IV), and Chelsea De Jonge and Don Dancier (Grade V).
In addition, 2022 World Championship team members Lisa Martin and Juicy Wiggle are also entered (Grade V), as is the Tokyo team combination of Victoria Davies and Celere (Grade II) – with Victoria also set to ride Sonnensterne.
2012 London Paralympic gold medallist Joann Formosa will ride Ashquar Riley (Grade II), while Emma Booth – who represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics – will be competing with her new partner Regal Wolks Magic at what will be the seven-year-old gelding’s first international-level event.
There are of course many other amazing CPEDI3* combinations set to compete over the three days across all five grades, as well as several up-and-coming combinations competing at CPEDI2* level. The event is no doubt set to be one of the most competitive para dressage events we’ve had here in Australia to date!
Draws and live results from the event will be available here.
Virtus riders in action
In addition, the event is hosting a Virtus exhibition competition. In 2023, the Australian Virtus equestrian team made history in bringing home team gold and several individual medals at the Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France. The Global Games is the world’s largest elite sports event for athletes with an intellectual impairment. Australian team riders Andrew Driffield, Sui Watts and Sarah Sherwood are all set to compete at Willinga, as is 2023 Special Olympics gold medallist Isabella Parisi among others.
Event timetable
Friday 16th February 2024
Virtus Grade IV Athletes II1 & II3: 8:30am-9:10am
CPEDI 2* Grade V & IV: 9:20am-9:52am
CPEDI 3* Grade V: 10:00am-11:35am
CPEDI 3* Grade IV: 11:40am -12:40pm
Virtus Grade IV Athletes II1: 1:00pm-1:16pm
Virtus Grade III Athletes II2: 1:50pm-1:58pm
CPEDI 3* Grade III: 2:00pm-2:16pm
CPEDI 3* Grade II: 2:20pm-2:28pm
CPEDI 3* Grade III: 2:29pm-2:47pm
CPEDI 3* Grade II: 2:50pm-3:30pm
CPEDI 3* Grade I: 3:35pm-3:43pm
Saturday 17th February 2024
Virtus Grade III Athletes II2: 8:30am-8:38am
CPEDI 3* Grade II: 8:42am-9:22am
CPEDI 3* Grade I: 9:30am-9:38am
CPEDI 3* Grade II: 9:38am-9:46am
CPEDI 3* Grade III: 9:55am-10:11am
CPEDI 2* Grade III: 10:15am-10:31am
Virtus: Grade IV Athletes II1 & II3: 10:45am-11:01am
CPEDI 2* Grade IV & V: 11:05am-11:37am
CPEDI 3* Grade IV: 11:40am-12:52pm
CPEDI 3* Grade V: 1:30pm-2-51pm
Virtus: Grade IV Athletes II1 & II3: 3:00pm-3:40pm
Sunday 18th February 2024
8:30am start, draw to come.
Tune in to watch
As a pivotal moment on Australia’s road to the Paris Paralympics, the Willinga Park CPEDI3* is a not-to-be-missed event. If you’re unable to head along to Willinga Park to cheer our riders on, the event will be live streamed in full via Equestrian Life and ClipMyHorse.TV.
The stream will be available free to watch live via Equestrian Life’s Live TV page and ClipMyHorse.TV (note this is while the event is live and via small screen only). For premium coverage and to re-watch the action post-event, be sure to sign up with CMH.TV.
Published 15 February 2024.
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