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Paralympic Equestrian Committee Presents Five Talent Identification Clinics

Ottawa, ON---The Paralympic Equestrian Committee of Equine Canada will be presenting a series of five talent identification clinics across Canada during the last two weeks of March. These clinics are made possible with financial support from the Government of Canada through Sport Canada’s Excellence Fund.

The priority of these clinics will be to identify the potential of riders with a disability to become high performance athletes while at the same time educating the therapeutic riding community and the dressage community to the benefits of sharing their knowledge for the furthering of the sport of para-dressage.

This series of clinics across Canada will address athlete development and coaching development, providing interaction between therapeutic riding instructors and dressage coaches to benefit the sharing of their knowledge. Classroom discussions on training schedules, competition planning, classification and the rulebook as well as videos of international competition will be a part of each clinic. The logical progression of the sport of para-dressage starts with our therapeutic riding centres, of which, there are in excess of 100 across Canada. Some of these centres focus on the therapy aspect of riding, while others are more sport oriented. Many centres offer both therapy and sport programs.

While a rider may start out in a therapy program, as they progress in the development of their riding skills their focus may change to be more sport-oriented. Persons with a disability come to the equestrian sport from several different backgrounds. People born with a disability begin to ride at an early age in order to maximize the benefits of riding to a person with mobility challenges (such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida or congenital amputation) or visual impairment. A person can acquire a disability through injury or accident (such as spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, visual impairment or amputation) or through developing a deteriorating condition such as multiple sclerosis. Our therapeutic riding centres provide a safe, knowledgeable and structured place in which riders with disabilities can improve their skills and develop their interest. These centres and the therapeutic riding community also provide some competitive opportunities at the lower levels.

As riders progress, they choose to remain with a therapeutic riding centre or move on to acquiring their own horse and seeking higher level coaching. Therapeutic riding instructors and coaches are certified through the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association certification program and the majority of CanTRA instructors are also NCCP Equine Canada coaches. Their knowledge is centered on teaching basic riding skills to riders with a disability, while mindful of how they can adapt to the challenges of each individual. Their areas of expertise are in safe mounting techniques, adaptive equipment and a knowledge of disabilities and contraindications.

Our sport specific coaches are not usually so versed on the particular needs of our riders with disabilities. On the other hand, riders who are focused on competition as a goal require the coaching that only these coaches can provide.

Over the past three years, our National Coach, Mary Longden has been offering coaching sessions across the country in conjunction with her coaching of our high performance team. Our team has been encouraged to seek out upper level coaching and advanced level horses, and to compete in open dressage competitions. This has resulted in a heightened awareness of the skills of our riders and in success at the International level, in particular at the 2002 European Championship, 2003 World Championship and finally, at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, where Grade IV rider, Karen Brain, brought home two bronze medals.

The strength of Canada’s National Team illustrates the need to build a strong base for our future competitive riders. The success of our future teams will depend on the basic education they will receive either in a therapeutic riding centre or in the regular coaching system.

Locations of these clinics will be- March 17-18, Guelph, ON; March 20-21, St. John’s, NF; March 22-23, Point Claire, QC; March 29-30, Calmar, AB; March 31 & April 1, Classification workshop and April 1-2, clinic, PRDA, Langley, BC. For further information please contact Jane James, Chair, Paralympic Equestrian Committee at (250) 746-6719 or email: janejames3@shaw.ca or check the CanTRA website- www.cantra.ca for contact information in each area.