Beijing Paralympic Games
by Wendy Elks

The Beijing Paralympic Games were outstanding by all accounts and Equestrian events were no exception. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Equestrian Company, an army of round-the-clock volunteers for whom nothing was too much trouble, and outstanding accessibility featured throughout the Olympic venue, not to mention competitive sport and top sportsmanship, have set new standards for Equestrian events at the Paralympic Games. Unprecedented crowds ignited the atmosphere and competitors’ performances as over 30,000 spectators watched five days of competition at the Sha Tin Olympic Stadium between the 7th and 12th of September 2008.

Paralympic Equestrian events include individual and team dressage tests and a freestyle competition. Tests are judged on accuracy, obedience and rhythm of the horse, and are graded by the level of rider disability, ranging from walk-only tests in Grade 1 to medium/advanced movements in Grade 5. Seventy three athletes from twenty eight nations competed in the two dressage competitions (currently dressage is the only equestrian Paralympic event), with twelve nations taking part in the teams event. Athletes usually ride retired dressage horses that require additional training to work with the rider’s disability in their new career.

MEDAL TALLY
Great Britain maintained their leader position in the sport with a total of ten medals: - five gold and five silver; while Germany took runner-up position with three gold medals, one silver and two bronze. Third on the medals board were first-time Paralympians South Africa with the outstanding achievement of two gold medals. Australia finished a creditable sixth overall, with two bronze medals going to Queenslander Georgia Bruce.

GRANTS
South Africa, Poland, Croatia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic all competed for the first time at a Paralympic Games - four of five countries which, over the past two years, have recieved grants totaling $50,000US from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, with the objective of providing opportunities for riders to compete in top level competitions and ultimately qualify for the Paralympic Games. South Africa’s was the first equestrian team to attend a Paralympic or Olympic Games, making them pioneers for both able- and disabled riders.

Australia’s Team
Australia’s five-strong equestrian team performed well but will be seeking more competition practice in the lead-up to London in 2012.
“The team worked together, supported and helped each other throughout everything – this result is that of a team working very well together,” Australian equestrian section manager Ken Dagley said. “We need to get into more major competitions than we have been.”
Australia took double equestrian gold medals at the Sydney Paralympic Games eight years ago but are yet to win gold at an away event. Paralympics dressage is supported by sponsors and the Australian government, but distance and huge expenses remain constant challenges for competitors. More sponsorship is needed, particularly as riders are often not able to train and care for their horses without assistance.
Georgia Bruce, 27, from Kuranda in far north Queensland finished third from 12 riders with a score of 67.571 in the grade four team test on Sunday.
West Australian Sharon Jarvis, 29, placed fifth in the grade three team test with a score of 62.923 percent. Sharon, a riding instructor and stud manager, has limited movement and strength on her left side from bone cancer as a child. In only two years of international competition she has represented Australia in the 2007 World Para Dressage Championships and competed in her first Paralympic Games at Beijing, making a dream come true.
Nicole Kullen of Rock Forest in NSW, 28, finished sixth from nine riders with a score of 60.235 in her class, while Grace Bowman from South Australia came in seventh on 58.235. Eighteen year old Grace became paraplegic after a riding accident but horses remain her passion and in two years of competition she has already represented Australia in England and Canada.
Georgia Bruce secured the Individual bronze with a score only a percentage point away from gold. Her performance was a sign of things to come in the grade 4 individual freestyle where, riding Victory Salute, she produced a smooth and elegant performance to the music of Fiddler on the Roof. It’s been an amazing year for the dressage trainer and instructor who was a recent finalist in the 2008 Australian Female Paralympic Athlete of the Year and achieved number three in the world rankings.
The final results on Day five mirrored the individual championship with the same riders taking out gold, silver and bronze. South Africa’s Philippa Johnson topped the scoreboard with 77.272, followed by Norway’s Ann Cathrin Lubbe on 75.046, with Georgia in the bronze medal position on 74.319.
“It was perfect,” Ken Dagley said of Georgia’s performance. “You can risk something and get a really good score or you can totally blow it. Georgia rode just a most precise, flowing test.”
Sharon Jarvis narrowly missed out on a bronze medal after being trumped by the final rider in her individual test. “She’s improved her score by seven to eight per cent (on the team test) and that’s a pretty big effort,” Ken Dagley said of Sharon’s 69.20 score. “The horse was calm, whereas before it was explosive, so we are very pleased with how she went.”

COMPETITION EXPERIENCE
The exciting atmosphere, while wonderful for the competition, took its toll on the Australian horses, pointing to a need for more exposure to big events. Grace Bowman and Nicole Kullen were hampered by nervous horses, ending in 15th and 11th places respectively in their class, while NSW rider Jan Pike finished in nineth place in her class with a score of 60 per cent. Jan, who suffers from cerebral palsy paraplegia, won Silver and Bronze in Athens 2004, and is currently ranked second in the world. She rates her finest moment to date as winning her first medal while representing Australia.

As with any Olympic Games, merely taking part is a huge achievement; however there can be no greater courage and determination than that shown by Paralympians. Every competitor has an inspiring story of overcoming huge odds in order to compete. Nicole Kullen says that a visit from her horse when she was critically ill on life support in hospital gave her the will to live. Nicole almost died after contracting meningococcal meningitis septicemia, twelve years ago. Both her legs were amputated just below the knees, she lost all function in her hands and wrists and her kidneys failed.
Nicole’s beloved purebred Arab mare Pinaroo Mary was trucked to the car-park of the hospital where she’d spent 50 days on life support, the doctors temporarily moving her intensive care unit (ICU) there. “Normally, after such a long time in ICU, you either pass away or are moved to another ward, so if you are still there, they do something for you. I couldn’t have a brunch because I couldn’t eat or drink on life support, so they brought my horse to the hospital and my dog the next day. It definitely showed me what I had to live for.”

Nicole – who still needs to undergo eleven hours of dialysis every single day – competed in her first Paralympic Games in Beijing, despite initially being told she couldn’t compete. “Being told no, that’s happened a few times, ever since I started with the dialysis,” Nicole says. “I was told that, but I never wanted to give up. I wanted to keep proving that they couldn’t NOT consider me.”
While additional sponsorship may be required to gain the competition experience needed by the Australian riders and horses they will definitely be a force to be recond with at the 2012 London Paralympic Games