AUGUST 2021 THE RIDER /29


Roberta Sheffield Demonstrates Paralympic Preparations At NAF Five Star Hartpury Festival Of Dressage CPEDI 3*


Ottawa, ON, July 10, 2021 – Roberta Sheffield of Lin- colnshire, GBR, showed that she and her mare, Fairuza, are ready for the Tokyo 2020 Par- alympic Games with top-three finishes at the NAF Five Star Hartpury Festival of Dressage CPEDI 3*, held from July 7- 11, 2021, in Hartpury, GBR. Sheffield, who made her


Paralympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games, is provisionally nominated to compete at Tokyo 2020 with the 12-year- old affectionately known as “Wonky”. They started their Grade III competition strong on July 7, scoring 70.500% in the Team Test for third. The next day in the Individual Championship, a score of 71.677% landed the pair in


second place. Sheffield and Wonky’s scores rose yet again in the Freestyle on July 9, where they finished the week with 72.600% for another sec- ond-place finish. “I am so excited with


how Fairuza went this week,” said Sheffield. “We presented our personal best perform- ances in each test but what re- ally gave me goosebumps was that we upped our game every time we went in the ring. It has felt like an age since our last CPEDI 3* back in October 2020 but we have been train- ing super hard with [Eques- trian Canada Para-Dressage High Performance Technical Leader] Clive Milkins. Now, I have enhanced feedback from five international judges to


kick it up another notch. It was the perfect preparation towards the Paralympics.” Join the Canadian Eques-


trian Team’s #RidetoTokyo and sign up to have Games-re- lated news sent straight to your inbox here. Visit the EC web- site for more information about para-dressage programs and services.


Photo: Roberta Sheffield of Lincolnshire, GBR,


and


Fairuza posted a trio of high scores at the NAF Five Star Hartpury Festival of Dressage CPEDI 3*, held from July 7- 11, 2021, in Hartpury, GBR. Photo Credit: Kevin Sparrow


Canadian Para-Equestrian Named For Tokyo Paralympic Games


Ottawa, ON, July 21, 2021 – A team of four para- dressage riders and their horses will be compet- ing for Canada in para-equestrian at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games next month, announced the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and Equestrian Canada today. Lauren Barwick (Aldergrove, BC) and San-


drino, Winona Hartvikson (Langley, BC) and Onyx, Jody Schloss (Toronto, ON) and Lieu- tenant Lobin, and Roberta Sheffield (Lin- colnshire, GBR) and Fairuza are set to participate in the individual and team events in Tokyo. Barwick is the most experienced athlete of


the team, heading to her fifth Paralympic Games. One of Canada’s most decorated riders, she made her Paralympic debut 17 years ago at Athens 2004 and is a two-time medallist from 2008, earning gold in the freestyle and silver in the in- dividual event in the Grade II classification. “It takes commitment, hard work and time


to nurture our equestrian craft,” said Barwick. “Over the past five years, Patsy Fyfe helped me acquire Engelbrecht with hopes he would go all the way to Tokyo. He ranked top eight at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) and then had an injury. I met Lee Garrod at WEG and she stepped up and helped me find Sandrino and has been an incredible owner. I want to go to Tokyo and honour both horse owners as without Patsy, I would never have met Lee. My para-equestrian career feels like a marathon and I’m excited to be Canada’s choice.” Hartvikson will be making her Paralympic


debut at the age of 62 aboard Onyx. She has been involved in dressage in multiple roles for more than 30 years but has been a member of the Canadian Para-Dressage Team since 2017. She competes in the Grade I class and earned a 10th- place finish at the World Equestrian Games in 2018.


“I began thinking about making the Para-


lympic team for Tokyo in 2017,” said Hartvikson. “I was a long time coming into para sport. Then, it became a huge and exciting focus to compete to the best of my abilities on a level playing field. When I go to para competitions, disabilities no longer exist.” Schloss, who will be competing aboard


Lieutenant Lobin, will be heading to her second Paralympic Games after first competing at Lon- don 2012. She had two 11th-place finishes in London in the Grade 1 category and helped Canada to an eighth-place result in the team event. “I am very excited to be competing for


Team Canada in Tokyo,” said Schloss. “Lobin and I are training hard. My superstar is impress- ing me with how well he is doing! It feels like I have been preparing for this for a long time. I could never have realized my dream without my team that supports me.”,


Sheffield is a returning member of the Rio


2016 Canadian Paralympic Team, where she placed 14th in the Grade III individual event in her first Games. She joined the Canadian team in 2013 after previously competing for Great Britain. “I cannot describe how it feels to be nomi-


nated for Team Canada for Tokyo with my heart horse, Fairuza,” said Sheffield. “It is such a huge honour to represent my country, such an incred- ible journey, so many twists and turns. There is nothing like wearing the maple leaf.” Para-equestrian at the Paralympic Games is


contested in three dressage events – individual and team tests where movements are pre-deter- mined and a freestyle test where the riders choose their movements. Athletes compete in five separate classifications, which are mixed gender, based on their level of impairment from highest to lowest: I, II, III, IV and V. Para equestrian competition will run from


August 26-30 in Tokyo. “I am very excited and proud to be working


with this team of athletes,” said Clive Milkins, Para-Dressage Chef d’Équipe. “In some ways we are still a developing team, working closely to- gether to create the best possible environment for everyone to build on the own personal perform- ances. Although there is no doubt Tokyo and COVID-19 have thrown us many challenges, I know that Canadian equestrian athletes will rise to the occasion and deliver their best perform- ances.” Canada has won four Paralympic equestrian


medals. Barwick holds a gold and silver from 2008, while Karen Brain won two bronze at Athens 2004. “Congratulations to Lauren, Winona, Jody


and Roberta for qualifying for the Tokyo Para- lympics!” said Stephanie Dixon, Chef de Mis- sion, Tokyo 2020 Canadian Paralympic Team. “This is a great group of athletes who I know have committed so much to being able to com- pete at these Games. I wish each of them the best of luck with their final preparations, and I look forwarding to supporting them and their horses in Tokyo.”


Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Para-Eques- trian Team Athlete/ Grade/ Hometown/ Horse/ Owner(s)/ Groom/ Personal Support Lauren Barwick, III, Aldergrove, BC, Sandrino, Lee Garrod, Lillie Durbin, Shannon Dueck Winona Hartvikson, I, Langley, BC, Onyx, Winona Hartvikson & Jane Macdonald, Court- ney Palleson, Jane Macdonald Jody Schloss, I, Toronto, ON, Lieutenant Lobin, Jody Schloss, Karis Van Essen, Melinda Castillo Roberta Sheffield, III, Lincolnshire, GBR, Fairuza, Roberta Sheffield, Richard Neale


Support Team Position/ Name/ Hometown Equestrian Team Leader & COVID-19 Com- pliance Officer, James Hood, Ottawa, ON Para-Dressage Veterinarian, Dr. Alan Manning, Orton, ON Para-Dressage Chef d’Équipe, Clive Milkins, Bristol, GBR Equestrian Media Attaché, Caroline Soble, Ot- tawa, ON The postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic


Games will take place from Aug. 24-Sept. 5, 2021, in Japan. Canada is expecting to send a


team of approximately 130 athletes and audi- ences across the country will be able to follow all the action live through coverage from the Canadian Paralympic Media Consortium, in- cluding broadcast partners CBC/Radio-Canada, AMI and Sportsnet and digital partners Twitter, Facebook and MXZN.


About the Canadian Paralympic Commit- tee: Paralympic.ca


About Equestrian Canada: Equestrian.ca


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