Hope Hand, President of the USPEA expressed, “We are a small discipline but that doesn’t mean we are not an important discipline. Para Dressage is the only equestrian discipline recognized at the Paralympics. The Paralympics is the second largest sporting event in the World which is ‘Parallel’ to the Olympics. Our Equestrian Paralympians are proud to be represented by The United States Equestrian Federation and we want you to know that we all work for a common cause to make the United States a ‘World Class Horse Nation’.”

For more information about the Para-Equestrian sport please visit USEF at https://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsDisciplines/discipline/allpara.aspx or USPEA at www.USPEA.org.

The United States Para-Equestrian Association (USPEA) includes every recognized equestrian discipline that is practiced by athletes with an eligible physical impairment with a focus on Paralympic Equestrian Sports. . The USPEA is a network of current and past athletes, owners, officials, event organizers, and equestrian enthusiasts. The Association assists athletes to get involved and expand their knowledge and experience in the Disciplines of Para-Equestrian.

USPEA was created to fill a need to assist Para Equestrian disciplines when they came under the governance of the FEI.  While Para Equestrian disciplines were originally segregated, they now are integrated in international sport.  As each individual Para Equestrian discipline develops, it is USPEA’s mission to always serve as an advisory resource with the ultimate goal that the established able-bodied discipline affiliate will integrate within their organization.

In 2010, the USPEA earned its 501 (c)(3) status and became a recognized International affiliate association of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) working together to grow the FEI recognized disciplines by helping to provide press, educational information, symposiums and competition opportunities for athletes with eligible physical impairments.