AACHEN, Germany--Kate Shoemaker on Vianne, Fiona Howard on Diamond Dune and Marie Vonderheyden on Fan Tastico H all won gold in their respective freestyle grades at the World Championships on Sunday, Aug. 23.

Kate Shoemaker thanks Vianne with a kiss (Photo by Kim MacMillan)Shoemaker finished on 83.305% to win in Grade IV Para Grand Prix Freestyle to win her third gold of the competition.

“This horse is so special, and the medals are icing on the cake,” said Shoemaker, who competes at Grade IV due to partial paralysis of her right leg from Periventricular leukomalacia, a brain injury that occurred at birth. “I decided that it's the last day and I was not going to hold back.”

Shoemaker made minor changes to her Paris 2024 freestyle, including the addition of four loops on the counter canter with a flying change.

The test was choreographed to music from the movie Forrest Gump. 

"It's the last day, the team is finished, so I just wanted to see if we could just have a little bit more in the trough and just not really hold back." said Shoemaker. "Vianne stayed relaxed and with me the whole time. I think we had our best extended trot of the entire competition, so I added it impromptu down the last centerline just for fun, because that wasn't originally in there. And then still came what felt like a beautiful halt to finish ,and she just walked out as relaxed as ever. So It's just amazing to have a horse that feels like she enjoys it so much."

 

"THE FOCUS coming in here was really the team, and so the priority was keeping the relaxation and the harmony," said Shoemaker. "She just gained  even more confident each day that we went. I just asked today, okay, can we add a little bit of power without losing any of the relaxation and focus? And she was like absolutely and that's so just made it fun."

Fiona Howard on Diamond Dunes (Photo by Kim MacMillan)"It feels like maybe I'll wake up from a dream tomorrow," she said." To be in Aachen, it's an amazing show."

 Riders in Grade IV have a severe impairment or deficiency of both upper limbs or a moderate impairment of all four limbs or short stature. Riders are able to walk and generally do not require a wheelchair in daily life. This grade also includes riders having a visual impairment equivalent to B1 with very low visual acuity and/ or no light perception.

 Howard won gold in the FEI Para Grand Prix Freestyle for Grade II on a score of 81.866% to also earn her third gold medal of the week.

Howard has dystonia, a neuromuscular disease that causes her muscles to contract and twist involuntarily, so she was fatigued on Sunday morning.

“I went in for the freestyle and said to Diamond Dunes, ‘I'm gonna need a little more help this time,’ and he was like, ‘Okay, I got you.’ I can just totally trust him.”

“We had a slightly new ending to my freestyle that we debuted today,” said Howard of the test that features music from the Avatar franchise. “He was ready for it, and I’m so proud of him. It has been a phenomenal week It's incredible to be competing here in Aachen, especially with such a special horse.”

Marie Vonderheyden on Fantastico H (Photo by Kim MacMillan)"I think the whole test was good and especially the walk." she said. "From the extended walk, he can go into a nice, big flowing trot and then I can just give him the reins and he totally relaxes and then I can pick him right back up again. So I really I love that about him. I thought he did everything he could through every single movement 

"It's been a phenomenal week," Howard said. "I think a big highlight was our team competition. 

Vonderheyden also won her third gold medal of the championship, this time in the Para Grand Prix Freestyle - Grade I on a personal best score of 80.540%.

“The music helps us move as one,” said the former FEI level event rider, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2015 and returned to the international ring in 2019 as a para dressage athlete. “This is my first time at a championship, so for me it’s hard to put it into words. It was a fantastic experience.”

A five-time U.S. Paralympian and Grade III rider, Rebecca Hart on Floratina rode her freestyle from the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris and scored 74.327% to finish eighth.

“I am so pleased that we came out here and did three very consistent days,” said Hart. “Floratina has been perfect—that first section of trot work was on the money every beat. I never thought we were going to make it to Aachen; I thought Paris was going to be our swan song. But at 18, she's happy and fit, so we will see what the future holds.”