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The World Games 2010 Foundation, Inc. today announced Lloyd Landkamer, of Hamel, Minnesota as the Para-Equestrian Discipline Manager for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Mr. Landkamer becomes one of nine managers responsible for planning, managing and directing the World Championship competitions in eight equestrian sports, communicating with the High Performance community and related organizations, and overseeing development and administration of the discipline’s budget. The nine managers will work on a contract basis with the World Games 2010 Foundation, Inc.

“The discipline managers are vitally important to the overall success of the 2010 Games,” said Rob Hinkle, Chief Operations Officer for the World Games 2010 Foundation, Inc. “We are thrilled to have Lloyd Landkamer bring his knowledge and experience in Para-Equestrian events to help us achieve that success.”

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Riding high on the world stage

During competition, Ashley Gowanlock looks like any other dressage rider, performing the required set movements in sync with her horse around the arena.

Out of the saddle, Ashley stands out. She swings her legs out from her hips when she walks, and brief spasms flash frequently across her face – two common characteristics of cerebral palsy.

Since she was a toddler, horseback riding has been both a solace and a form of physiotherapy for Ashley, now 20.

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Following on requests from riders work has been done on starting to arrange show jumping for Riders with Disabilities. Draft Rules have been written, based on the FEI Show Jumping Rules, taking into account the special needs for these riders.

Before riders can compete, they have to be classified. This is a functional classification carried out by PE accredited classifiers. Having been classified, the riders are given a functional profile number and grade. Amongst athletes with disabilities, there are many different types of impairments. To provide meaningful competition for such athletes it is necessary that people with similar levels of impairment can compete together.

France is the leader in this sport, and run competitions each year, the most important of which is their Championship held at the FEI CCI Show Jumping World Cup Event in Bordeaux. Other nations have a few riders. Most nations use their own national rules at present. Riders with both physical and visual impairments are included.

The British Show Jumping Association is to start classes in the UK. There are a number of riders very interested in supporting this project.

The aim of the FEI Para Equestrian movement is to make jumping a Paralympic Games Sport in the future.

Our next step is to find out what interest and support there is from National Federations, and details of any competitions held.
Para Equestrian would like to hear from any interested riders who can give us this information.

In order that we can collate these details can you contact Tony Bott – E.Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with any information that will be useful to this project.

Further details of Para can be obtained from this website and also from the FEI Website, www.horsesport.org/ParaEquestrian. The Para Equestrian Generic Rules can also be consulted.

Image from the Horse and Hound Magazine

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