Paralympic gold medalist Howard breaks the world record – and a stirrup strap – AGDF

It was only after his exam congratulated her when she congratulated her on breaking the world record what she and Dunes (de l'Or – Wibella, cloud dance) had done on the last day of the ninth week at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (Florida). Just two days after a new personal best score of 77.29% in Grade II FEI para Grand Prix A, the rich freestyle score of 83.26% was not just a personal best for Howard.

“I didn't really believe you at first, so I checked someone else,” she said. “And they said:” Oh, he really did it. “At that point it was a bit surreal. I was so proud of Dunes. He is really a unique horse. It was obviously incredible and like a fairy tale.”

Howard knew Dunes and said it was no surprise that at the end of her test he was unimpressed by the device failure.

“He is a horse that when he goes to a stadium or see other horses around him, he wants to show,” said Howard. “He leaves his little chest and says: 'Look at me!' But then he goes out, and then strolls with a long rein from the arena as if he is a nap.

Dunes, a 12-year-old gelding from Howard and Hof Kasselman, had never been a para-dressage horse before the partnership with Howard last March. At that time she was not actively looking for another horse. But he only lived from her barn for a few minutes, so she went out anyway. Although her first trip was not perfect, Howard looked at the moment when she was sitting on him.

“The first trip, I couldn't really make it go forward at all,” she recalled. “He was just a bit like 'what? I don't really understand what you ask. 'But the one I fell in love with from the beginning was every time I was: “No, that wasn't quite what I asked,” He would say: “Ok, well, what about it?” And he would always try to give me different answers until we found it out and he would do it right. “

“I think this is so rarely so important in a horse and for para horses,” she added, “because at the end of the day I will probably accidentally fit for half and ask shoulder-in generation if I don't want it.”

The gelding was quickly put to the test when Woward started Ocala Cpedi in March in 2024, just a few days after the first seat on the Hanoverer for the first time. All doubts that she may have accommodated over the gelding became permanently to rest after the couple has been achieved over 72% in each test of their debut.

Since then, the couple has only become more competitive. In their first year together, they achieved the top award together in all of their 15 international starts. At the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024, Howard and her teammates brought three gold medals home, a record for the USA.

Howard was based with coach Nicole Wego-Engelmeyer in Germany in the run-up to the games with two horses, Dunes, Dunes and their former international para-dressage partner, a 13-year-old US destroyer-Wetzging (Johnson TN-Sigit Ros, Sandro Hit) named Jagger. It was originally planned to go back to Jagger after the Paralympics, but Howard was not ready to let Dunes go. Fortunately, Dunes' owner Francois Kasselmann was on board with her change of heart.

“I was a bit like 'he can't go anywhere. I love him too much. He stays, ”she said. “So we shot him back to the United States and I continue and we continue to grow from our partnership.”

Although she loved the hurricane of the qualification season, Howard has welcomed the change in pace since Paris. She shares her time between Boston and Wellington, Florida, and can spend a lot of time with Dunes when she is south.

“It was so nice to further build our partnership binding outside of the selection attempts and this competition and this competition,” she said. “I have really spent a lot of time with him since Paris. I live on the farm on which he lives and try to do as much of his care as possible every day. ”

The humorous personality of the chestnut shall makes him good company, said Howard.

“He's super stupid,” she said. “He will try to steal our Starbucks drinks in the morning, so you have to keep an eye on it. He will also take bananas out of his hand, and bananas are my snack before the show. There were times when I peeled my banana and ate them, and he only grabbed it. And I want: “Oh, ok, I think that is yours now.” “”

With a view to the future, Howard has an eye on the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. Until then, she hopes to compete in Europe in Europe that will make it possible for her to connect with Jagger again, which she left in Germany for Wego-Engelmeyer subsidiary in the FEI children's department. And while she is currently fighting Dunes, Howard Jagger gives a lot of recognition for her competitive success.

“What he taught me, I think why I am able to drive dunes as I can,” she said.

Whatever comes for you and your horses, Howard knows that she will need the support of your village. Her world record freestyle was particularly useful, she said when her friends and family came out in droves to see how it lives.

“It was just astonishing to look aside and see so many people in our village there. I had a group from the church, I had my son, I had friends from Tennessee, Dunes' vet and his hoofs. And the surgeon, who saved my life in Boston in 2019, flew to Florida to watch me last weekend, ”said Howard. “It made it so much more special.”