Canadian Paralympian Lauren Barwick, a resident of Reddick, Florida, posted a string of spectacular high scores at the Tryon Fall Dressage 3 Concours Para Equestrian de Dressage International (CPEDI) 3*, held October 22-25, 2020, in Mill Spring, North Carolina (NC).

Riding Sandrino (Spirit of Westfalia x Pavarotti), Barwick lit up the CPEDI 3* Grade III leaderboard starting on October 23 in the Team Test, with a score of 72.451% for third place. She and the eight-year-old Westphalian gelding continued to wow the judges the next day in the Individual Championship, to the tune of 73.039% for second place. Not ones to rest on their laurels, Barwick and Sandrino returned to the ring on October 25 for the Freestyle, once again securing second with a new personal best for the pair of 75.978%. 

Barwick and Sandrino’s performance cemented their status as a combination to watch in the lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will take place August 24 to September 5, 2021. Partnered only since November 2019, the promising duo has never scored below 69% in Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) level competition.

“Consistent high scores tell me that we’re on the right track to be competitive in the future, and we still have 11 months [until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics] to peak,” said Barwick. “Overall, our theme to getting the bigger scores is Sandrino being more uphill and light in the front end, understanding that he can hold it without the use of my legs and not getting overly offended when I touch it with my whip [as a compensating aid]. He has the gaits, mind and engine – now, lightness is the key.”

Barwick added, “Big thank you to: Erin Paul, my groom and assistant rider; Lillie Durbin, my assistant and nanny; Shannon Dueck, for training and coaching; Equestrian Canada (EC); and Own the Podium, our funding partners.”

Also making a statement in October was Barwick’s fellow Canadian Paralympian and teammate from the Tryon 2018 World Equestrian Games, Roberta Sheffield, who resides in Lincolnshire, Great Britain (GBR). At the Keysoe British Dressage CPEDI 3* in Keysoe, GBR, she and her 11-year-old mare, Fairuza, earned back-to-back third-place finishes: on October 7, they posted 69.147% in the Grade III Individual Championship, followed by an impressive score of 71.154% in the Grade III Freestyle on October 8.

EC wishes to thank Sport Canada for its support of athletes through the Athlete Assistance Program.

For full results from the Tryon Fall Dressage CPEDI 3*, click here. Results from the Keysoe British Dressage CPEDI 3* can be found click here. For more information about EC para-dressage programs and services, click here.

Photo Credit: Sharon Packer