The all-female U.S. Para Team conquered all at the 2026 CPEDI Wellington, FL.
Spearheaded by record-breaking scores from the freshly minted Grade II combination of Fiona Howard and Vianne, the team laid down a total of 446.238 points to second-placed Canada’s 389.503 points. The U.S. team was led by Chef d’Equipe and Technical Advisor, Michel Assouline, along with Team Leader Laureen Johnson.
At this show in 2025, Howard stormed to a new Grade II Freestyle world record of 83.276% on Diamond Dunes. This year, the gifted 27-year-old rider stepped into the stirrups of Kate Shoemaker’s Olympic bronze medalist Vianne just days before the CPEDI, and produced dazzling Grade II world records in each of their three appearances. They logged a winning 78.85% in Friday’s CPEDI3* Para Grand Prix A Test, following it up a day later with an 80.444% Grand Prix B Test, with all three judges awarding at least 80%. They scored a perfect 10 from every judge for the stretching walk half circle.
On Sunday, the duo notched their third world record in as many days, laying down 84.934% in the Grade II Freestyle—with a winning margin of more than 18 percentage points over the second-placed combination.
Catch Ride
The results would have been a spectacular achievement for any combination, let alone for a horse and rider making their competition debut. Moreover, Howard, who won triple gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, was hospitalized for seven weeks this winter after undergoing kidney surgery in December 2025.
Until now, the 10-year-old Vianne (by Vitalis x Ramiro’s Bube) has been campaigned by owner Shoemaker, including in able-bodied big tour international classes. Shoemaker—who was on the winning U.S. Team in Wellington with her own 10-year-old Sezuan gelding, Supreme—is Howard’s long-time coach, and these astonishing results were proof of the detail-oriented relationship the two talented athletes have forged.
“Because I’d never shown Vianne before, I didn’t know what to expect, but Kate told me that I can totally trust her, and I trust Kate,” said Howard, who has dystonia, a neuromuscular disease that causes her muscles to contract and twist involuntarily. “I’m super grateful to Kate for the opportunity to ride this horse. It was an incredible week, and it’s all testament to her training, her coaching and the team of the three of us coming together. To walk away with three world records is incredible."
“Kate has known me for a long time now and she’s helped prep my horses, ride them and coach me. She knows me and my disability very well and that shows in her ability to make this team of me with Vianne so quickly. Each day, our confidence together grew, and that was reflected in the scores. I was having so much fun,” added Howard, who is the World No. 1 para dressage rider across all grades. “We didn’t know what this whole season was going to look like, and I’m taking it day by day and feeling grateful and thankful that I can do this.”
Howard will return to Europe—where her own competition horses are based—at the end of March to resume her campaign for selection for this summer’s FEI World Championship in Aachen, Germany.
Vonderheyden Powers Through
“The [freestyle] test was well organized compared to the first day,” said the 34-year-old. “We are building good momentum and we’re a real team. Fan Tastico is a very nice guy and always open to everything.”
Vonderheyden is a former FEI level event rider for France, but a fall in 2015 left her with traumatic brain injuries and in a coma. The injuries she suffered have left her with seizures, tremors and hemiplegia, as well as memory issues. Following multiple brain surgeries and extensive therapies, she returned to the international ring in 2019 under the U.S. flag in the para ranks. Like Howard, she is also gunning for the 2026 FEI World Championships.
Roxanne Trunnell was the fourth member of the winning U.S. Team, riding Simone van der Schalk’s 14-year-old Rumour Has It (Romancero H x Inkka) to a trio of third places in the Grade I classes.
Borrowed Ride
“This was an amazing opportunity for me to ride my friend’s horse, and I hadn’t ridden him before I came here,” explained Thorning Jørgensen, whose left leg was paralyzed in a riding accident in 2001 in which a horse fell on her. “I’ve been on this [para] path since 2002, so it’s been many years, but this show was so fun.
“This was my fifth or sixth ride on Zee Me Blue, so we don’t really have a partnership, but he’s just such a nice horse. I use a whip for the left leg, and he was such a gentleman. Being able to compete here was wonderful—like self-care for me,” beamed Thorning Jørgensen.
Line is mother to Paralympic champion Tobias Thorning Jorgensen who won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. In 2013 he was diagnosed with myopathy, a condition that affects his muscle fibres and means he gets tired easily. He rides professionally for Blue Hors stable in Denmark.
Related Links
Scores: 2026 CPEDI Wellington
NorCordia USA Partners with Kate Shoemaker for Vianne
Kate Shoemaker Secures Vianne for the Future