Para dressage individual test competition at the Paris 2024 Paralympics wrapped up this afternoon with the Grade V Tests. Riders in Grade V are the most able-bodied of the para rider classifications.
Seventeen riders from 14 countries competed in Grade V: one each from Australia; Brazil; Finland; France; Great Britain; Hungary; Ireland; Italy; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Sweden and Switzerland, and two each from Belgium, Germany and Norway.
The riders performed the FEI Grade V Grand Prix Test A, which requires specific movements in all three gaits―walk, trot and canter. View the FEI para dressage tests here.
After the last Grade V horse and rider pair finished their final pass down centerline, the medals were awarded. Gold went to Belgium’s Michele George and Best of 8 (76.692%), silver to Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp and Highlander Delight’s (73.231%), and bronze to Great Britain’s Sophie Wells and LJT Egebjerggards Samoa (72.257%). View complete results from Grade V here.Michele George celebrates gold in Individual Grade V Para Dressage aboard Best of 8. Photo by by Sarah Miller/MacMillan Photography
Tomorrow, Thursday, September 5, is a day off for the para dressage competitors. The top eight horses in each of the five grades will return on Saturday, September 7, to contest for individual freestyle medals.
However, the Team Tests come first on Friday, September 6. Now that the individual tests are finished, countries which have sent the maximum allowed four qualified riders must narrow the number to three by choosing who will represent their nation in those Team Tests (FEI Grand Prix Test B). Stay tuned to our Paris 2024 Paralympics main page for the announcement of which three U.S. riders will compete for America on Friday.
Watch all of the Paris 2024 para equestrian action livestreamed or played back on demand (subscription required). For more information, go to NBCOlympics.com.
Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.
Kim MacMillan graduated from Purdue University where she majored in agriculture communications and animal science. She has been reporting on equestrian sports, agriculture, science, travel and history for over 35 years. She and her husband Allen, who is a professional photographer, have covered several World Equestrian, Olympic and Pan American Games. The MacMillans share their Northeastern Indiana farm with several much-loved horses, dogs and cats.
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