U.S. Paralympic Dressage Team Earns Historic Gold
At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the U.S. Paralympic Dressage Team made history once again by winning their second straight Paralympic team medal and taking home the historic team gold. In the FEI Grand Prix Test B, the team combinations of Roxanne Trunnell and Fan Tastico H (Grade I), Fiona Howard and Diamond Dunes (Grade II), and Rebecca Hart and Floratina (Grade III) all produced fiercely competitive scores, all at the 77% mark or above, to cement the team's impressive finish and win the first team gold in program history. The greatest Paralympic team score in the history of the para-equestrian sport is their final combined total of 235.567.
"This marks the realization of a long-awaited, meticulously thought-out idea that began in Tryon, 2018 when we first began to genuinely implement changes. When we took home the bronze in Tokyo, I was well prepared to win that team medal, both mentally and tactically. For us in Paris, I simply knew it had to be gold," stated Chef d'Equipe Michel Assouline. "The past three years have involved intense labor, preparation, logistics, and competitive strategies for both Europe and the United States." To get here, the program, the coaches, and the horsepower had to be completely redone. Though that's amusing to consider and exactly what I expected, you never want to have an honest conversation about it.
The first pairing to enter the afternoon's team competition for the United States was Roxanne Trunnell of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, and Fan Tastico H. After only been paired together since early 2024, Trunnell and Fan Tastico H are still a relatively new combo. Nevertheless, they produced a competitive score to get the team off to a great start. The 2017 Oldenburg gelding (Fuersentball OLD x Weltmeyer), owned by Karin Flint and trained by Rafael Hernandez-Carillo, demonstrated his potential once more in the walk, with Trunnell providing guidance from the saddle. The pair received a score of 77.000% from the judging panel.
Regarding her test, Trunnell remarked, "I just really focused on him marching." Even at seven years old, he already exudes coolness, and things will only get better. Regarding the team's accomplishments, she continued, "Chef d'Equipe Michel Assouline has played a major role in the athletes' development and confidence within the program." It's all Michel, in my opinion. He made us fit. He is really rigid. I believe that his entire background has benefited us."
As Paralympic debutantes, Fiona Howard (Boston, Mass.) and Diamond Dunes, a 2013 Hanoverian gelding (De L'or x Wibella) owned by Dressage Family LLC and Hof Kasselmann and trained by Helen Claire McNulty, maintained their dominant performance in Grade II competition. The two achieved an 80%, which is the highest grade they have received this week in any grade level and represents another personal best score they have set this week.
"I really thought, 'He feels really good,' as soon as we started the first trot, even just trotting around the ring.'" When I entered, I recalled what my team had advised—just have faith in him," she remarked. "How satisfying it is to simply trust your horse, and he never stopped giving." My muscles were so exhausted at the end that all I could say was, "Keep going, buddy!" and he answered, "I've got you," Howard recalled. "He's amazing; he's incredible."
The pair's incredible ascent to the top of the Grade II rankings has been breathtaking, and Howard praised the team's support both at home and in Paris for the trajectory of her success with "Dunes." With the gold medal in hand today, the pair's personal best test was the icing on the cake for an already wonderful week.
"Everyone is 100% behind us, including our federation, farriers, veterinarians, and trainers. We have an amazing support team," Howard remarked. "And it goes without saying that Michel [Assouline] is an amazing team coach. It's actually the cooperation, in my opinion. Everyone pushes and encourages the others. We support one another through the good times and the bad, and I believe that's a major factor.
After a close battle with a formidable Dutch team all day, Rebecca Hart of Wellington, Florida, Floratina, the team's most seasoned pair, and Flora, one of the few horses in history to ultimately win team gold medals at both an able-bodied continental championship (Lima 2019) and para continental championship (Paris 2024), found themselves in a precarious situation to secure the gold medal. Hart and Rowan O'Riley's 2008 Hanoverian mare Ferdertanz x Rubina, who is being maintained for by Mackenzie Young, were committed to keeping the United States at the top of the podium. With a combined score of 78.567%, the pair achieved their second individual best of the Games and realized Hart's aim of competing for the U.S. Para Dressage Program for almost 25 years.
"It still seems unbelievable. It was the result of years and years and years of work, and because it was a team effort to complete, I am incredibly proud of all these females. Without everyone of us giving it our all on the field, it would not have succeeded, according to Hart.
Hart responded, "What I'm really, really hoping that this success and these medals bring for para is the recognition and the equality of the multiple disciplines within our federations, and realization that we are valuable, and we can deliver when we need to," when asked about the significance of the gold medal and what it could mean for the U.S. Para Dressage Program's future success. That, in my opinion, will only serve to expand the sport and draw in more participants, sponsors, horses, and spectators—all things I hope to see happen in the future.
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