What Does it Take to Coach a 'Parrallel Rider'... a Para Equestrian?

“Riding gives me a purpose and a reason to get up in the morning.” Para Equestrian Robyn Andrews.

The term “para” refers to parallel equestrians who are “parallel” to able bodied equestrians but who are riding with disabilities. Disabled riders who compete in national and international competitions are assessed by doctors and physiotherapists and placed into one of five grades  1A , 1B, II, III, IV,  according to their level of disability with 1A being the most severely disabled and IV the least disabled.  In 1996 Para Equestrian competition was introduced to the Paralympics and in 2006 Para Equestrian joined the 7 other disciplines regulated by the FEI.

 

“An able bodied rider can practice and learn a new skill but that’s not possible with a para rider who has cognitive disability. Each day is like a new day.” Sue McTavish

There are any number of dressage coaches in the world who can teach and train riders of all ages and abilities. But a coach who can teach and train a para equestrian is someone very different. When Sue McTavish began riding at the age of five, tearing around bareback on a pony, it is unlikely she had any idea of what a para equestrian was.  Sue was an eager participant in Pony Club competitions by the age of 12 and went on to Young Riders as an Eventer. Later she was long listed for the Canadian 3 Day Event Team for 7 consecutive years. She ran a jumper competition barn with Sally Sainsbury for a number of years before coaching on a freelance basis.  It was in 2007 when she clipping a horse for Evi Strasser that Evi asked her to help with a horse for para rider Sandy Mitchell.  This was the start of Sue’s involvement with the paras.  Sue was part of the team that accompanied Sandy, who lives in Canada but rides for his native Bermuda, to the Paralympics in Hong Kong in 2008, and she was his coach at a CPEDI in Hartpury England in 2011. The CPEDI competition was a preparation for London 2012. Sadly serious illness meant that Sandy was not well enough to go to London. But he is a “never give up” person and he’s back riding and determined to get to WEG 2014. 

As Sandy was struggling with his health Sue met Robyn Andrews. The international para coach Mary Longdon introduced Robyn to Sue as she thought Sue would be just the right person to help this young para athlete.  Robyn, now 27 years old, was a former Canadian junior figure skating champion. A brain tumor and a stroke during the surgery to remove the tumor dashed forever any hopes she had of continuing as a skater. Robyn is a Grade 1A, the most severely disabled. But although she has suffered brain damage there is still a competitor’s heart inside her. For Sue working with someone like Robyn requires tremendous patience. The progression of skills is very slow and limiting. Unlike able bodied riders who work to move up the levels the para rider is not able to  set goals of moving up but can set goals of improving at his or her level.  Sue finds that sometimes, a year later, she is still trying to correct the same issue and patience is needed by both Sue and Robyn to get through the frustration. Robyn can be frustrated on the days when her mental processing is just not happening and Sandy, who was born with cerebral palsy, has greater physical challenges but is mentally sharp as a pin and gets frustrated when his body will not do what his brain is telling it to do.  Both of these para riders, who are in the lower grades, need a coach with patience and empathy. Sue has both of those qualities. But it doesn’t end there. As well as being a coach she must also be the groom, rider, and trainer.

While most coaches of able bodied riders are at the competitions to warm up their student, watch them ride the test, and discuss it afterwards, they are then free to leave. Sue as a para coach looks after the horse, grooms and braids the horse, walks and prepares the horse for the para rider , reads the test if necessary, discusses the test with the para rider, untacks the horse, baths or grooms the horse and puts it away. In between shows it is up to Sue to work with the horse and do the training work with it as well as teaching the para rider.

 

Training the para horse is a very different matter than training even a lower level dressage horse.  There is a fine line with a para horse between being fit enough to do the work but not so fit they are too fit and too energetic for the para rider. They need to be introduced to the show venues very carefully so there will be no surprises when the para rider takes them in the arena to ride the test. In Hong Kong, where the arena upset a number of horses in the Olympics, Sue walked and walked and walked Sandy’s horse in the arena to get him used to the atmosphere. At FEI competitions the para coach is allowed to ride the horse for only 30 minutes each day. The coach has to mount the horse in the designated warm up area under the timing and supervision of the steward or technical delegate.  If Sue wants to ride the horse twice in a day she must only ride for 15 minutes each time. A new FEI rule for the Paras is that the coach must dismount 15 minutes before the para rider gets on the horse to compete. This rule was brought in to prevent coaches from preparing the horse, getting it on the bit and then just putting the rider on and sending them into the ring still looking perfect. The para rider must display their own skill in riding the horse.

 What type of horse is suitable for a para rider? For a para rider, of any grade, safety is paramount. But at the same time the horse must be sensitive enough to respond to light aids. If the rider has limited use of the legs the horse must respond to very light leg aids or the horse has to be trained to respond to whips on the shoulders if the rider cannot use his or her legs.  The horse needs to be calm and safe but also sensitive. But not too sensitive. Sandy has difficulty with the coordination of his rein aides and sometimes he gets a very strong grip on the reins and his horse has to respond well to this. So the horse needs to be calm, safe, sensitive but forgiving and finally the horse has to go forward. Even in the tests that only require the movements to be done at the walk the horse must more freely forward and accept contact with the bit. For a rider like Robyn the free walk in the 1A tests presents a special challenge.

 

Robyn is unable to keep a steady hold on the reins so she has loops on the reins that she can put her hands through to maintain a steady rein length. For the free walk she is not able to let the reins go and then pick them up again so she has to lean forward over the horse’s neck, with her seat coming out of the saddle as she does this. This enables her to give the horse a loose rein to stretch forward and downward. If anything untoward were to happen while she is in this position …….disaster.

Robyn’s horse Fanciana or “Fancy” as she is called has been with Robyn for four years. She was purchased in Germany through Marion Ostmeyer. In one of those curious ‘six degrees of separation’ Marion is a long term friend of Sue’s.  It is almost as if this partnership of horse, rider and coach was meant to happen. It has been said that Fancy could be renamed ‘I’m a Saint’.  At the recent CPEDI at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival there was a moment that could have been a catastrophe when Fancy lived up to her ‘Saint” title.  Robyn was riding her test on the first day of competition in the covered arena. Over in the International arena the awards presentation for the CDI3* was taking place. Suddenly a malfunction in the speaker system sent ear splitting music and commentary from the awards over the speaker in the covered arena. This happened just at the critical moment when Robyn was about to take up her perilous position for the free walk. Fancy’s head went up in the air. The loudspeaker boomed music and the commentator’s voice boomed encouraging everyone to cheer for the CDI victory parade, the noise was deafening. Sue could do nothing to help at this point. Would Fancy spook? Bolt? Shy away from the noise? Would Robyn be thrown off the horse if Fancy did any of these things? For Sue it was a heart stopping moment.  Robyn took up her forward position for the freewalk. Fancy still looked very alert but….she walked on and into the free walk.  Sue breathed a sigh of relief but now as she continued to read the test for Robyn she realized the music and commentary coming over the speakers was so loud that Robyn could not hear what Sue was saying. Would she remember the test? Some days remembering the test is not possible for Robyn. Sue was confident that Robyn knew the test very well but would today be one of the days when she was able to remember it under pressure? Yes! Robyn rode the test from memory unable to hear Sue’s voice and Fancy continued on doing the job she knows she is there to do.  Saint Fanciana!

 

There are few very talented horses in the world that can go to the top but there are also very few horses that can do the work required for the para riders.  What is the price of such a horse? Well, Totilas sold for 13 million Euros, Vindicat W for 6 million US$,   but Fanciana……….Priceless!

Although it may not be possible for para equestrians to move up the levels in the same way as able bodied riders the paras still have long term goals of representing their country in the Paralympics and the World Equestrian Games. Robyn has the WEG in France in 2014 as her goal and the Paralympics in Rio 2014 to follow.  This means a lot of work for both Robyn and Sue perfecting the movements of the Grade I tests.  Sue will also work with the Canadian Para Team coach Andrea Taylor. Andrea says that Sue and Robyn are a “great partnership” and she works with Sue and Fancy but does not interfere with Sue’s coaching work with Robyn.

 

Getting to WEG or to the Paralympics means getting qualifying scores and these must come from competing in CPEDI level competitions.  There are very few such competitions in North America. The Adequan Global Dressage Festival hosted one in March of this year. The cost of hosting a CPEDI is $35,000. The host must hire specialist stewards or technical delegates who know the FEI para rules and regulations. There must be four judges and a warm up arena separate from other able bodied riders and horses that may be competing in an able bodied competition. The arena needs to be quiet and adjustable from the 20x40 meter sized arena for the lower grades to the 20x60 meter for the higher grades.  For the remainder of 2013 there may be one more CPEDI either at Windreach Farm in Ontario or at the showgrounds in Saugerties NY.  With so few qualifying shows the para riders try to get to other shows where para tests are offered to get in as much practice as they can before the important qualifying competitions.

 

The courage and determination of the para equestrians who aim to compete at the highest levels cannot be underestimated. But neither can the patience, perseverance and plain hard work of the people like Sue McTavish who coach, train, support and assist these riders. When Robyn says she has a reason to get up in the morning it is because she gets up to ride her horse.  It is Sue who is there, waiting for her with Fancy, ready to ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comment by Classic Equine Equipment on October 16, 2014 at 11:21am

Interesting article and the pictures added a lot to the story. Thanks for writing.

Comment by Eugenia Venchiarutti on March 26, 2013 at 6:26pm

Wonderful report on Sue's work with Para athletes

Great photos 

Kudos to you for this work!

 

 

 

Comment by Pam White on March 22, 2013 at 1:38pm

Great article Leueen!  Very interesting reading.

Comment by mary norris on March 20, 2013 at 7:57pm

This is a wonderful article.  I have ridden at horse shows with para riders, but never knew what the levels meant, or the details of how the sport works.  Thank you , Leueen, for your very informative piece. 

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