September - The Rider

The
42/ SEPTEMBER 2008 THE RIDER
Ontario Therapeutic Riding Association
ManeLine
www.ontra.ca
President: Karen A. Sibbald
Vice President: Sonia Koczekan
Treasurer: Victoria Davidson LaCombe
Secretary: Gay Harper
Directors: John McClellan, Judi Island,
Pat DiMambro,
Chris Peare, Julia Thompson
OnTRA News
Three ParaEquestrians
achieve National standings in
EC Gold Level National Competition
held at the 2008 Ontario
ParaSport Summer Games
“It’s ability not disability,
that counts”
The ‘2008 Ontario ParaSport
Summer Games’ hosted the
largest Para Equestrian Show
Tim Dack
ever held in Ontario and saw three
ParaEquestrian achieve National
standings.
These Ontario provincial
championships for athletes with a
disability showcased 134 of
Ontario’s best athletic talent. The
Equestrian portion of the ParaSport
Games were held Sat. July 26th at
Community Association for Riding
for the Disabled (C.A.R.D.) in
North York.
The Equestrian event showcased
20 of Ontario’s top ParaEquestrian
competitors including
Paralympians, Judi Island of Caledon
and Dax Adam of Scarborough
who were members of the 2004
Athens Canadian Paralympic Team,
as well as Maria Simpson of Toronto
who was a member of the 1998
Atlanta Paralympics.
The EC Gold Level competition
began the day with three
Advanced Level riders who first
rode a Championship Test followed
Judi Island
by a Freestyle to Music. Gold went
to Grade 4 rider Geraldine Lewis of
Richmond Hill, ON riding the lovely
moving ‘Mighty Heights’, a 23
yr. old TB owned by Karin Davis.
With the use of a rein hand hold and
a lot of determination Lewis continues
to compete in able-bodied competitions.
At the 2000 Sydney Paralympics,
Mighty Heights was ridden
by Kay Gebbie (GB) Gr. 4 rider to
Gold in the Freestlye.
Dax Adam, Grade 2 Paralympian
of Scarborough,ON, rode
14 yr. old ‘Rhythm of the Night’ to
earn a Gold Medal. Adam trains
with Gary Vander Ploeg, a top
Canadian FEI dressage trainer and
coach, based at Pine Ridge Farm,
King, ON. Since 2000, he has been
short listed to the Canadian Paralympic
Team. Adam competed with
the Canadian ParaEquestrian Team
last year at the 2007 World Para
Dressage Championships in
Gloucestershire, Eng. on Donnymaskell
placing 17th.
Judi Island, a Grade 1B Paralympian,
of Caledon, ON, teamed
up with ‘Class Act’, a 22 year old
14.1 hand, Welsh/Trakehner, a pony
in the program at CARD. Island has
shown a strong comeback in her
first competition since a serious
injury last year. Since 2001, Island
has become an accomplished rider
representing Canada in 5 international
competitions earning 4 Gold,
2 Silver and 3 Bronze medals.
Island took home another Gold
Medal and achieved the ‘overall
high’ score at the 2008
OSPG.
The impressive
list of officials included
John MacPherson - EC
‘M’ level Dressage Judge;
Gwynne Rooke - FEI
Stewart and Show Coordinator,
Kirsten Sarah
Trenc.
2008 OSPG - EC Gold
ADVANCED Level
Results
Rider/ Horse/ Test/ Score/
Medal Placing
Gr.1B Judi Island, ‘Class
Act’, Gr. 1B Championship
Freestyle, 68.1,
77.5, Gold
Gr.2 Dax Adam,
‘Rhythm of the Night’,
Gr. 2 Championship
Above Left: Judi Schloss. Above Right: Geraldine Lewis. Below Left: Cynthia Berringer. Below Centre: Michelle Wilder. Below Right: Maria Simpson
Freestyle, 71.4, 73.5, Gold
Gr.4 Geraldine Lewis, ‘Mighty Heights’, Gr. 4
Championship Freestyle, 68.1, 75.6, Gold
NOTE: When there is one rider in a class, medal
placings are determined by score.
2008 OPSG Largest ParaEquestrian Dressage
Show held in Ontario!
The prestigious three day Ontario ParaSport
Summer Games kicked off with Opening Ceremonies
on Friday at noon when athletes from all
across Ontario paraded into the large gymnasium at
Variety Village to the applause of family, friends
and dignitaries. After a performance by musician
Justin Hines, the torch was lit and the games began.
In addition to Para Equestrian the Games included;
Track and Field, Boccia, Wheelchair Tennis, Goalball
(for athletes with visual impairments and blindness)
and Powerlifting.
Riders are graded by their disability from
Grade 1 (most disabled) to 4 (least disabled) with
the dressage tests similarly related, so in Grade 1
they do walk and trot movements, becoming more
difficult through the grades, to Grade 4 who ride
Medium level dressage or above. This ensures an
even and fair competition, where after grading –
‘it’s ability not disability that counts’.
Though the equestrian was an ‘own horse’
competition, six riders from a distance who were
unable to bring their own mounts so chose the
option to ride a ‘borrowed’ horse. The success of
the competition entirely rests on having good quality
horses. A huge thank you to Abbey Simbrow,
Executive Director at CARD who kindly arranged
to loan these horses so the riders could participate.
Intermediate
A record nine entries in the Intermediate Level
competition made for an exciting day. Grade 1A
with the first rider in Jody Schloss of Toronto had a
great ride despite a glitch with the music. Schloss
began riding at CARD 1999. At the 2007 Ontario
Paralympic Games, she was the Intermediate Level
Champion receiving a Bronze medal. This year
Schloss improved her score to be awarded the
‘Grade 1A Gold Medalist’.
The Grade 1B Gold Medal was captured by
Michelle Wilder, a 23 year old from Whitby, ON.
Although initially Wilder started to ride for purely
therapeutic reasons, she has ridden on many horses
throughout her 2 years in this sport. Wilder competed
in the ‘2008 Sea to Sea Winter Series’ Dressage
Competitions and has enjoyed the opportunity to
compete monthly to continue to improve her riding
skills
Ṁaria Simpson, Paralympian, has been riding
since she was 10 years old. At the age of 18 she
attended her first World Dressage Championships in
Denmark in 1991 bringing home 2 Bronze Medals.
In 1996 she attended the 1998 Atlanta Paralympic
Games. Simpson seized the Gold in Grade 2 by edging
out CARD team mate Brock Bontje who took
home the Silver Medal.
Entry
With four strong contenders in Grade 1A, the
Gold Medal went to 21 yr. old Cynthia Berringer
who began riding at CARD at 4 years of age.
Berringer, who is studying Psychology at York University,
has participated in many riding events at
CARD. The Silver Medal was clinched by Courtney
Bashaw representing CARD and Bronze by first
time C.O.D.R.P. competitor, Trish Murrin.
In Grade 1B the judge found it hard to separate
the field. Silver was captured by first time competitor,
Elaine Davidson from GRACE in Owen Sound.
The battle for Bronze was a tie between team mates,
Amber Walker and Jennifer Young representing
Lanark T.R.C. With just a point spread between first
and fourth place, Timothy Dack’s score squeaked
out in front to win his first ever Gold Medal in dressage.
Dack who hails from Almonte, ON has been
riding with the Lanark County T.R.C. for all the 22
years that it has been in existence!!
A special congratulation goes to Tim Dack
who was presented ‘The 2008 Shopper’s Drug Mart
Award of Merit’ at the 2008 OSPG Award Banquet
for the Equestrian for achieving his overall personal
best and in recognition of outstanding sportsmanship
at this year’s Games.
The Games wrapped up Saturday night with a
closing Awards Banquet followed by a dance at
Centennial College’s Progress Campus. Paralympics
Continued on Page 43