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Para-Equestrian Canada Announces Team for 2008 Paralympic Games

June 4, 2025

Ottawa, Ontario—Para-Equestrian Canada is pleased to announce the team members who will be representing Canada at the 2008 Paralympic Games. The selected team members, in alphabetical order, are Lauren Barwick, Karen Brain, Ashley Gowanlock, Eleonore Elstone and Jennifer McKenzie.

“We are sending a very strong team to the Games, and I am confident that they will be very competitive” remarked Elizabeth Quigg-Robinson, Chef d’équipe for the Canadian Paralympic Team.

Lauren Barwick
As a Grade II rider, Barwick, of Aldergrove, BC, has successfully represented Canada at a number of international competitions. At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, GRE, Barwick, 30, finished seventh in the Championship Test and sixth in the Freestyle Test at the Markopoulo Equestrian Centre. In 2004Barwick was named Equine Canada Equestrian of the Year.

Karen Brain
Brain, of Saanichton, BC, began riding when she was eight-years-old, and went on to become a top-level rider in the sport of three-day eventing, representing Canada at the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome. In 2004, Brain, 38, represented Canada at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, GRE, where she was a double bronze medalist in the Grade IV Championship Test and Freestyle Test. Brain is one of the few athletes who has attained the highest level of competition in both able-bodied and para-equestrian riding competitions.
Ashley Gowanlock
Gowanlock, 21, started riding for therapeutic reasons when she was two-years-old, and for her, what started as a hobby soon grew into a passion. A resident of Vancouver, BC, Gowanlock first represented Canada last year at the Para-Dressage World Championships in Hartpury, GBR, finishing eighth in the Team Test and Freestyle, and placed seventh in the Individual Championship Test as a Grade 1B rider. Gowanlock was also the winner of the under 21 age category at the 2007 World Championships.
Eleonore Elstone
As a native of Langley, BC, Elstone was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada in 1974. As a Grade IV rider, Elstone, 56, also attended the 2007 Para-Equestrian World Championships, placing eighth in the Individual Test and 12th in the Freestyle.
Jennifer McKenzie
Since starting para-equestrian pursuits in 1999, McKenzie has represented Canada nine times, most notably at the 2003 and 2007 Para-Equestrian World Championships. McKenzie, 42, of Maple Ridge, BC, has also been named Athlete of the Year 2007–2008 by PacificSport Fraser Valley and by Horse Council British Columbia in 2003.

The XIIIth Paralympic Summer Games will be held in Beijing, China, from September 6–17, 2008. The equestrian events will take place in Hong Kong from September 7–11, 2008.
About the Para-Equestrian Discipline
In Para-Equestrian, each rider is classified according to his or her functional ability. They are assessed by trained physiotherapists and doctors who evaluate either muscle strength, coordination, or a combination thereof throughout the athlete’s body. The rider is then given a functional profile that indicates the grade in which they can compete. There are five grades of competitions in dressage, with Grade IA representing the more severely impaired riders, and Grade IV representing the least severely impaired riders. The competition within each grade is judged on the functional skill of the rider, and not the level of disability.
About Para-Equestrian Canada
Para-Equestrian Canada is the discipline committee of Equine Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing programs on behalf of the Para-Equestrian community and administrating the high performance program for dressage riders with a disability. For additional information regarding Para Equestrian Canada please visit www.paraequestrian.ca.

Written by Equine Canada · Filed Under Olympics 2008, Press Releases 
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