Fontainebleau, France – The Perrigo U.S. Dressage Team finished a banner weekend at the Fontainebleau CPEDI3* and Test Event for the 2024 Paralympic Games, showcasing new horse and rider combinations and improving on marks from the firs few CPEDI competitions this season. The team was led by Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline and consisted of three U.S. combinations with Rebecca Hart and Floratina, Fiona Howard aboard Jagger, and Kate Shoemaker with Vianne.

“Obviously this was an incredible outcome at the Paris 2024 Test Event, which was really characterized for our team by pure consistency of high score results in both the Grand Prix A and Grand Prix B test,” said Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline. “Then it was topped by even higher scores for Becca and Kate in the freestyle, which were some of the highest scores of the entire show. Really thrilled for our athletes, their teams, and our results as a program coming out of this competition.”

In Grade IV competition, Shoemaker (Wellington, Fla.) and Vianne impressed the judging panel across all three days of competition. The pair received a personal best score of 74.417 percent in the FEI Grand Prix Test A Grade IV to begin the week and continued to steadily improve. Howard (Boston, Mass.) who trains with Shoemaker, also jumped out to a strong start in the Grand Prix Test A Grade II, earning a 75.207 percent, and a personal best for the combination. In Grade III, Hart (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Floratina, showed their growing potential, receiving a 75.333 percent in the Grand Prix Test A Grade III.

Both Shoemaker and Vianne, as well as Hart and Floratina, are continuing to build in their partnerships with the two talented mares. Shoemaker took over the ride on Vianne earlier this year, having only competed in just one other CPEDI, while Hart and Floratina only debuted their partnership late last summer.

In the team test, Grand Prix Test B Grade III, Hart and Floratina, a 2008 Hanoverian mare owned by Rowan O’Riley & Chloe Gasiorowski and cared for by Mackenzie Young, shined, receiving a 74.967 percent, while teammates Howard and Shoemaker notching scores just as strong. Shoemaker and the 2016 Hanoverian mare, owned by NoCordia USA and cared for by Jessica Martin Legg, earned a 74.513 percent in the Grand Prix Test B Grade IV, while Howard and Jagger, her own 2012 Westphalian gelding also cared for by Jessica Martin Legg, finished with a 73.567 percent to help the team secure the overall win on a final team total of 448.004.

To conclude the weekend, all three combinations finished with their respective freestyles. Shoemaker and Vianne started the day off in Grade IV, earning a 78.385 percent for their impressive freestyle, earning an 80 percent score from the judge at M. Hart and Floratina again, wowed individually, with strong marks across the panel for a final score of 79.807 percent. Howard and Jagger rounded out the final test for the U.S., taking the win in Grade II with a 76.613 percent in their freestyle.

The Perrigo U.S. Para Dressage Team will have their next outing at the Hagen CPEDI3*in Germany for the team members basing abroad for the summer, while the final U.S. Observation Event will take place at Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, N.C., in June.

Results

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