About Para Equestrian Canada

Para-Equestrian Canada is the discipline committee of Equine Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing programs on behalf of the Para-Equestrian community and administrating the high performance program for dressage riders with a disability.

In Para-Equestrian, each rider is classified according to his or her functional ability. They are assessed by trained physiotherapists and doctors who evaluate either muscle strength, coordination, or a combination thereof throughout the athlete’s body. The rider is then given a functional profile that indicates the grade in which they can compete. There are five grades of competitions in dressage, with Grade IA representing the more severely impaired riders, and Grade IV representing the least severely impaired riders. The competition within each grade is judged on the functional skill of the rider, and not the level of disability.