PARADRESSAGE:
TRAINING & Showing
My JOURNEY and the Triumphs
and Trials on the Road to Becoming
a HIGH PERFORMANCE Athlete
At the Adequan Global Dressage Festival
or me, that thing is horses. Since I met a palomino for Classification on January 9th, 2020!
pony on a preschool field trip, horses were always
on my mind. I immersed myself in horse books and
movies, and as I got older used the internet as my source
of horse information and news. I learned as much as I
could and discovered my favorite riding discipline was
dressage, I was captivated the moment I watched Charlotte
64 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com
My first ride in a dressage saddle
on Dee in March of 2019
EE
F
By Bryanna Tanase
They say to never
give up on
something you
can’t go a
day without
thinking about.
With the start of 2020
came the next milestone
in my transition to sport. I
traveled to The Adequan
Global Dressage Festival
on January 9th to receive
my national paradressage
classification. This was my
first time at a show ground.
It was overwhelming and
inspiring, and I left Wellington
determined to pursue
this path. Come February
and March, I continued
to review my knowledge
and used it to do new
things. I even rode a
Grade 1 test I created myself
and a FEI Grade 1 paradressage test from 2018 as
practice, which I scored a 78.75 and 81.6 on respectively.
That was the last goal I completed before the coronavirus
shutdown, and I am planning my next steps.
My journey has not been without challenges. The most
pressing being finding a local dressage trainer to learn
the technicalities of dressage while using my therapeutic
sessions to review and condition. Riding instructors worry
about the liability and the insurance coverage needed to
teach a student with a disability, trials on this front prevent
them from teaching in some cases, and the rules they must
follow to receive coverage vary. There is also the issue of
how para-equestrians are viewed in the industry. Many
have reservations when they hear our medical history. I
want to make something clear. Myself and others with
disabilities are not defined by this, we know our limits and
goals. Others can’t delineate them for us. We are passionate,
driven and we ask that you give us a chance to show
you our capabilities and knowledge if you can. We may
surprise you. Riding is our freedom, our independence, our
therapy, our joy, and so much more. We are not porcelain
dolls or mindless vegetables. We are strong, fierce, and
willing to do whatever we need to succeed. We are equal
(para) to able bodied riders, and wish to be seen as such.
Dujardin and Valegro float across the arena, and
began to study the sport earnestly.
One day at age 10 or 11, I decided to search and see
if there were any professional riders that had a disability
like myself. I was born with cerebral palsy, a physical disability
caused by brain damage at or before birth that
affects movement, coordination, and balance, and I
am a wheelchair user. That was my first encounter with
paradressage, and it only took a few minutes of watching
riders like Rebecca Hart for me to want to pursue it.
Even though I went on short pony rides throughout
my life, my first real step towards high performance was
during my senior year of high school in 2016, when my
parents enrolled me in the therapeutic riding program at
Quantum Leap Farm in Odessa, FL, and have supported
me since. I’ll never forget my first independent ride in
December of that year. It was the moment where I realized
that my dreams of being on the US Paradressage
Team could be a reality. The people at Quantum are my
second family, and they continue to help me reach my
goals today.
After a few years of improving my riding skill and confidence,
2019 was the year I started to take my paradressage
dream seriously. I worked on skills like memorizing the
arena layout, and performing 20 meter circles. In February,
I took my first ride in a dressage saddle, and after that
lesson, things really started taking off.
Riding was my motivation returning to physical therapy,
which I attend once a week. In October 2019, I visited
Sunflower Hill Farm in Dunnellon to meet Silver Paradressage
Coach and USDF Silver and Bronze Medalist Lisa
Hellmer and Paradressage rider Laurietta Oakleaf. They
are now members of my support team and good friends.
Throughout the rest of that year, I refined my seat and
hands, and added serpentines and leg yields to my repertoire.
All smiles after practicing
an FEI Grade I
Intro Test A during a
lesson with my current
lesson horse Shane.
Follow Bryanna at
@bt.paradressage or
email- btanase@verizon.net
link
/www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com
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