Spain’s Villalba triumphs in Para equestrian video competition

Spain’s Sonia Villalba has been revealed as the winner of the second International Federation for Athletes with Intellectual Impairments (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) Para Equestrian video competition.

Villalba overcame the winner of the very first competition in 2017, Russia’s Ekaterina Kirinkova, who this year finished sixth.

All three judges agreed that the Spaniard’s Grade IV Novice A test was the best of the 10 entries. They scored her a combined 71.149% on horse Donauzauber.

Australia’s Sui Watts was second with 64.943%, retaining her silver from last year, once again riding Springfield Festivity.

Russia’s Ekaterina Efimova (63.631%) just grabbed bronze on Gavana a few points ahead of Great Britain’s Oliver Peace (63.448%) on Bailey.

A total of 10 riders from five countries submitted videos for judging, designed to make the competition more accessible to athletes around the world. Horses were required to wear bandages to indicate that the test has not been performed and judged at another competition. Tests were assessed and scored by a panel of International Federation for Equestrian Sport (FEI) Para Equestrian judges.

About World Intellectual Impairment Sport Para Equestrian

Equestrian was added to the World Intellectual Impairment Sport sport programme in 2016 in the form of dressage. The organisation wants to offer the best riders with intellectual impairments the chance to compete regularly.

More information about the sport, including the rules and history, can be found at the World Intellectual Impairment Sport Para Equestrian page.