PT Student Helps Para-Equestrians
My name is Kerri Sowers and I am in the Class of 2008. This summer I accompanied a group of para-equestrian dressage riders to the Pacific Rim International Championships in Vancouver, BC. Our trip began just outside of Philadelphia, took us to Woodinville, WA (an hour north of Seattle) and then went across the border to Langley (near Vancouver), BC. I went as a groom, which is the person responsible for the care and preparation of the horses. Before I go into the details of the trip, I would like to share a little about the Paraequestrian program.
The para-equestrian program began about 25 years ago and has been growing ever since. The program was designed for disabled or impaired equestrians to compete nationally and internationally in the disciplines of dressage or driving. The sport was initially run by the International Paralympic Committee (and the International Paralympic Equestrian Committee), and is now run by the Federation Equestrian International (FEI), which governs all international equestrian sports (horse sports for those who don’t know what equestrian means)! Beginning in 1996, the para-equestrians were included in the Paralympic Games (which follow the Olympic Games) and are designed for athletes competing with disabilities or impairments. Like Olympic athletes, the Para athletes must also prove themselves with a competition record and must compete for team positions in order to represent their country at international competitions. For dressage riders to compete at the Paralympics, they must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility in their Grade. This can only be done at a few, specific competitions that are ranked at a high enough level. One of those competitions was the Pacific Rim International Championships that we went to. In order to make sure the playing field is level (since disabilities can vary enormously) the IPEC developed a “Profile System” which places the riders in different grades. There are five different grades (Ia, Ib, II, III, and IV); grade I is the least functional and grade IV is the most functional. In order to compete internationally a rider must be evaluated and graded by a certified “classifier”. This is where Physical Therapy fits in…in order to become a classifier, you must be a licensed PT or MD and you must complete a course in classification. According to the Profile System, riders’ impairments are placed into categories which are then grouped into the Grades. According to the riders I spoke with they must go through strength, balance and coordination activities after which the classifier can determine their functional level and place them into the appropriate Grade.
Now back to the trip and how I was able to go! I also compete in dressage (able-bodied) and train with a three-time Olympian in dressage and judge in PA. Her daughter (a Pan-American Games medalist in eventing) is the coach for the USA Paraequestrian Dressage Team. In addition to that, many para-equestrian riders go to their farm for training. One of the riders I was helping on the trip trains with my coach and is from Ireland (he is a unilateral transfemoral amputee). Needless to say, there is an incredible amount involved in competing, especially when it is on the opposite side of the country! When I heard about the competition I volunteered to go as an extra set of hands – it was a perfect opportunity to combine my dressage interests with my physical therapy interests, and a great learning experience as well!
We flew three horses out of Philadelphia (FedEx, believe it or not!) about a week before the competition. One of the horses belonged to James (the grade IV rider from Ireland), another was on loan from a client of the farm for Keith (a grade Ib rider with Cerebal Palsy) and another belonged to Kathy (a grade IV rider, unilateral transradial amputee) who drove up from the south. The horses flew into Seattle, WA, where an incredibly nice group of people from the Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center picked up the horses and provided stabling and training facilities for a few days prior to the competition.
Little Bit is one of the largest, full-time accredited therapeutic riding centers in the United States. They have a full-time staff dedicated to instructing and providing therapy for children and adults with all types of disabilities. They also have several physical therapists associated with the facility that offer hippotherapy and individualized programs for the riders. There are some riders from Little Bit’s program, who also compete nationally and internationally, and we met up with those riders and some other West Coast based USA para-equestrians and drove across the border to Langley, BC where the competition was held.
("Stretch", is large and life-like, and is used to help stretch tight muscles before riders start their sessions.)
The Pacific Rim International was one of the few North American based qualifiers for the 2008 Paralympics, so there were many riders from several countries attending. There were riders from Canada, USA, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong, Russia, Bermuda, and more. Some riders brought their own horses, but many borrowed local horses whose owners let them be used for the competition. The competition begins with a “jog”, where the horses are looked at for health and soundness and are compared to their passport (which identifies the horse). This is where I came in to help prepare the horses (bathing, braiding and making sure they were ready to be presented), and then running (since I was grooming for an amputee and a wheelchair based rider – it would have been a little tough for them to run with the horses). The next day began the competition, where the riders competed within their grades. The different grade riders perform different tests (a required series of movements). The tests become increasingly complex with the higher grades (grade Ia is the least difficult and grade IV is the most difficult). As a rider myself, I can say that there are many able-bodied riders out there that would not be able to complete the grade IV tests as well as many of these riders did! The competition went well for the riders I helped, and they were able to qualify to compete in the 2008 Paralympics. However, reaching the Paralympics isn’t quite that easy, and they still have much more training and preparation to do. Competitions continue in Florida during the winter months and move back north in the spring. Next July, the Paraequestrian World Championships will take place in England, and many of the riders will head there to compete and hopefully I will be with them again. The riders must continue to compete between now and 2008 in order to be chosen as a team member to represent their country.
(James and Orlando riding for Ireland - I went as their "groom".)
The trip to Vancouver was a great way for me to combine my two interests. It was also a lot of fun traveling to new places, meeting so many riders who have worked so hard to accomplish what they have and meeting the many people who were there supporting the riders in so many different ways. All of the riders had found ways to work around their various impairments, and had set some incredibly high goals. Many of the riders there had accomplished so much more than most people without limitations have; there were truly some lessons to be learned from their ability to overcome their disabilities and the character it takes to do that. I am really looking forward to going with the riders to other competitions and have looked into becoming a classifier when I finish my DPT.
