Competitor Interview – Lauren Barwick (CAN)

1^st Grade II 2*/2nd Grade II 2*/1^st Grade II Freestyle/2^nd Grade II Freestyle

Among  the competitors was  Paralympic gold and silver medallist Lauren Barwick from Canada, who took first place in the Grade II 2* competition, as well as the Grade II Freestyle with scores of 71.90 and 75.58 respectively on the talented chestnut mare Off To Paris, which is owned by Equine Canada.

Lauren was also competing on another talented mare – Ferdonia 2 on which she took second place in the Grade II 2* and the Grade II Freestyle. Lauren also shared the ride on Ferdonia 2 with teammate Ashley Gownlock, a Grade 1b athlete who took first place in the Grade 1b team and individual tests on board the mare.

Lauren is 33 years old and will compete at London 2012 with Off To Paris, having previously made Paralympic appearances at Athens and Bejing where she brought home Individual Silver and Freestyle Gold.

She is classified as a Grade II Para athlete as she is paralysed from the waist down following an accident in 2000.

“I have two new horses here with me at the moment,” said Lauren “Ferdonia 2 is my own, and Off To Paris, which is owned by Equine Canada.

“We have received financial assistance from Own the Podium for Off To Paris, which is the Canadian organisation which helps athletes prepare for Olympic and Paralympic Games. Her name and the Own The Podium name reflect each other in the letters OTP.”

Lauren was working in the film industry training stunt riders when a serious accident left her paralysed.

“I was a show jumper before the accident, but obviously that wasn’t possible afterwards so I took up dressage and have competed at both Athens and Bejing on Maile, who is owned by my sponsors Parelli Natural Horsemanship.”

Lauren is a qualified Four Star Parelli Instructor and trains with the Parelli’s at their ranch in Colorado and in Florida.

Lauren travelled to the UK to compete at the Hartpury 3* and as both Off To Paris and Ferdonia 2 are new, the decision was made to include the Bishop Burton event as part of the trip.

“I need lots of practise with the mares as we are still forging a bond so we decided to compete at Bishop Burton as it provided another chance to compete with them,” said Lauren.

 “We are heading for the 2012 Paralympic Games so I need as much practise as we can get. Off To Paris can be a challenging ride and as she is the one I will be taking to London we decided to make the trip to Bishop Burton and we’ve had a great time.”

Lauren Barwick and Off To Paris compete in the Grade II Freestyle test