ABOUT PARA-EQUESTRIAN DRIVING

“Horses were driven long before they were ridden. As vehicles have eliminated the need for horses as a primary form of transportation, Driving has turned into a fast-growing sports discipline”

What is Para-Equestrian Driving?
Para-Equestrian Driving has been governed by the FEI since 2006 and has now fully joined the ranks of the other 7 FEI disciplines with national and international competitions in Driving for individuals with a disability. This led to the FEI becoming the first, and still the only, International Federation to govern and regulate a sport for both the able bodied and disabled athletes.
Driving is a discipline without riders; instead drivers sit on a vehicle drawn by a single horse or pony, a pair or a team of four.

Competition Venue and Testing
All rules and regulations with regards to competition venues and testing are governed by the same principles as other disciplines. The General Regulations, Statutes and Discipline rules that are available on this site apply. The formula for the shows is the same as for standard Driving with Dressage, Marathon, Cones/Obstacles phases. 

Classification
With the idea of creating opportunities for all people with disabilities to compete and achieve their goals in equestrian sport, athletes are classified according to the level of their disability/impairment so as to provide for meaningful competition. The competitor’s mobility, strength and coordination are assessed in order to establish their Classification Profile. People with similar functional ability Profiles are grouped into competition Grades. The competition within each Grade can therefore be judged on the skill of the individual competitor on their horse, regardless of the competitor’s disability.

Application procedure to obtain a Para-Equestrian Identity Card (PE ID card)

Equipment
Competitors must wear the appropriate equipment as stipulated in the classification manual, and are only permitted the use of special equipment when this has been formally documented and approved.

Main competitions
FEI World & Continental Championships