U.S. para-equestrian athletes vying for a berth to the Paris Paralympics had a chance to make their cases for selection over the weekend at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival 9 CPEDI3* in Wellington, Florida. As part of the team competition in which the U.S. was the only entrant, Perrigo U.S. Para Dressage Team Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline guided Beatrice de Lavalette and Sixth Sense, Rebecca Hart and Floratina, Fiona Howard and Fleuresse 4, and Cynthia Screnci and Sir Chipoli to a score of 428.15.

“The team was excellent throughout the competition and in the freestyle in the end,” said Assouline. “All in all, we had several horses scoring above 70 percent, which is very good.”

Hart (Loxahatchee, Florida) and Floratina earned scores in the 70s throughout the competition, demonstrating how their partnership has developed since they began competing together last spring. They collected a score of 73.44% in the Grade III FEI Para Grand Prix A Test for a second-place finish, behind Hart on her Tokyo Paralympic Games partner El Corona Texel, in Friday’s class to begin competition. Hart and the 16-year-old Hanoverian (Fidertanz—Rubina) mare owned by Chloe Gasiorowski were awarded a score of 75% to win Saturday’s Grade III FEI Para Grand Prix B Test. The duo finished the weekend with a win in Sunday’s Grade III FEI Para Grand Prix freestyle with a score of 76.36%.

De Lavalette (Lake Fort Worth, Florida) and Sixth Sense, a 14-year-old Oldenburg (Sir Donnerhall—Edosta) owned by Elizabeth and Nicolas de Lavalette, began the event by winning the Grade II FEI Para Grand Prix A Test with a score of 68.90%. They earned a score of 72.83% in the Grade II FEI Para Grand Prix B Test to win the class and closed out their weekend with another excellent performance in the Grade II FEI Para Grand Prix freestyle to win with a score of 74.70%.

Howard (Boston) and Fleuresse 4, also competing in the Grade II classes, stayed close on de Lavalette’s heels all weekend, taking second in the Grade II FEI Para Grand Prix A Test (67.47%), the Grade II FEI Para Grand Prix B Test (66.33%) and the freestyle (72.38%).

Screnci (Boca Raton, Florida) and Sir Chipoli had a solid score of 69.00% in the Grade V FEI Para Grand Prix A Test to start the competition with a second-place finish behind her second horse, For Memory 4, who scored 71.96%. Screnci and the 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Sir Donnerhall—Vivalucienne TKS) gelding she owns with Volado Farms, won the Grade V FEI Para Grand Prix B Test with a personal-best score of 68.90%. Screnci elected not to compete Sir Chipoli in the Grade V FEI Para Grand Prix freestyle after strong efforts on Friday and Saturday, instead competing his stablemate For Memory 4, her own 7-year-old Hanoverian (For Dance—Despania), for the experience and scoring 69.60%.

See complete scores here.

The Perrigo U.S. Para Dressage Team next heads to the World Equestrian Center—Ocala (Florida) for another CPEDI3* in three weeks. The venue will be hosting a CPEDI for the first time, and it will be a new experience for several U.S. combinations.

“As a chef, I am quite keen to see how the horses will develop in Ocala because it is a complete change of facility. A lot of the horses are based in Florida, and Wellington is their home showgrounds,” Assouline said. “We have never been to Ocala, and we will compete there in the main stadium, so I will find it very interesting to see how the horses will be. In terms of the technicality, the horses have already progressed well from the first show [in January]. I think we will see the real results of the adjustments that have been made when they show in Ocala.”