Paris Paralympics: dressage

Welcome to Horse & Hound’s coverage of the dressage competitions at the Paris Paralympics. Our expert coverage will be led by our dressage editor Oscar Williams on location at the Palace of Versailles, supported by colleagues working from the UK, who are poised and ready to keep you up to date with all the latest Paralympic dressage news as it happens.

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Dates:   3-4 September & 6-7 September
Venue:   Palace of Versailles
Classifications:   Riders in five grades
Teams:   60 combinations from 15 nations
Individuals:   78 horse and rider combinations
Competitions:   Individual, team and freestyle
Medals:   33 medals

Paralympic dressage news

Meet the British squad horses

Paralympic dressage in Paris: what you need to know

Where are the Paralympic equestrian events being held?

The equestrian competitions at the Paris Paralympics 2024 are taking place in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, which also hosted the Olympic equestrian events and the modern penathlon. Find out more about the venue for the Paris Paralympics equestrian competitions.

How many horses and riders at the Paris Paralympics?

There will be 78 horse and rider combinations allowed to compete at the Paralympics, which is three more than in the Olympics equestrian competitions. There will be 33 medals given out across the individual, team and freestyle competitions.

Paris Paralympics: equestrian dates plus medal ceremonies

The Paralympic dressage competitions begin with the individual test, known as the FEI Para Grand Prix A, across all five grades (categories of rider). This will take place on 3-4 September. Next is the team test (FEI Para Grand Prix B) for team medals on 6 September. The top eight in each grade from the individual test will compete for a set of freestyle medals on 7 September.

Paralympic equestrian schedule

Date Competition Grade Medals
Tues 3 Sept Individual Grade I, II, III Yes
Wed 4 Sept Individual Grade IV, V Yes
Fri 6 Sept Team Multiple grades Yes
Sat 7 Sept Freestyle All grades Yes

How does the team competition work?

Teams of three riders will compete for medals. Each team must include at least one rider who is in grade one, two or three, and there must be a maximum of two athletes of the same grade within a team. Each combination rides a set test specifically for their grade. The scores of all three team members in this test count towards the team total to decide the team medals.

Who will be judging the Paralympic dressage in Paris?

The dressage judges at the Paralympics are:
• Anne Prain (FRA) – president of the ground jury
• Suzanne Cunningham (AUS)
• Kristi Wysocki (USA)
• Ineke Jansen (NED)
• Freddy Leyman (BEL)
• John Robinson (GBR)

Who are the other Paralympic dressage officials?

Germany’s Dr Jan Holger Holtschmit is the technical delegate for the equestrian events at the Paralympics. The assistant technical delelgate is Hanneke Gerritsen of the Netherlands. The chief steward is Juliet Whatley from Great Britain and the travelling reserve judge is Katherine Lucheschi from Italy. The two members of the judging supervisory panel are Marco Orsini of Germany and Kjell Myhre of Norway.

Essential reading

• What is para dressage at the Paralympics?
• Guide to para rider grades and grading