Federica Sileoni: From The Thrill of Eventing To Dressage under the Paralympic Rings

Interview

-- Text by Silke Rottermann for Eurodressage - Photos © Silke Rottermann / Hippofoto

When I met up with Italy’s Grade V double Paralympian Federica Sileoni at the 2026 CPEDI Mannheim at the beginning of May, an open hearted smiling young lady who apologized for her (not at all!) bad English sat down with me for this interview.

The first time I saw Federica live was at the 2022 CPEDI Waregem in Belgium during the familiarization before the show started. I had spent a cold windy day alongside the two rings to shoot as many horses as possible. None of the cool para horses batted an eyelid at me or my camera, but Federica’s horse slightly shied at the look of me. I earned an icy stare from Federica which hit me to the core, but I am more than happy to say that Federica is truly the opposite of a difficult dressage diva who wants to eat photographers…

On the first really hot day in Germany of 2026 she did not mind squeezing herself in my overheated car to avoid the loud hustle-bustle of the Maimarkt Show. Shortly before the vet-check the 27-year old Italian told us her story of how a national junior eventing champion became a double paralympian who placed highly at last year’s Europeans.

Eurodressage (ED): You are still in your twenties. Did you have the usual biography with loving horses from child’s age?

Federica Sileoni (FS): Yes. When I was seven years old my parents took my sister and I to a riding club. Initially my parents had no special interest in horses, but when we became so enthusiastic about horses we kind of infected them as well. After 5 or 6 years our parents bought a riding club and now they are also crazy about horses.

ED: Have you been competitive from the start?

FS: Well, I started competing first in jumping and then changed to eventing. That is my heart discipline. With a super horse I managed to win the eventing championships in Italy. There is nothing better than ride a horse cross-county.

I was born without my left lower arm, so I don’t know it any other way and accordingly it was not a problem when it came to riding. I never use a prothesis in my everyday life, only when it comes to riding I put one on. So I can hold the rein with the artificial finger of the prothesis and use it by moving my upper arm.

One day people approached me and asked if I wouldn’t like to try para dressage. First I was quite skeptical because when I did eventing dressage was always the discipline I was most scared of: of the discipline itself, the judges…(laughs). Then my parents bought me a horse to try out para dressage, Ray CB (an Oldenburger by Rosengold x De Niro) whom I started para dressage on in 2020.

ED: You only started para dressage a year before the Toyko Olympics?

FS: (laughs) Yes, it went really fast, but I was so lucky to meet Gea Einaudi who made it possible. She runs a company in Italy and buys horses for para athletes. She phoned me and said I should come and try out a horse, Burberry (KWPN by Lord Loxley x Kelvin). I did one international with her in Kronenberg at the beginning of 2021 and then went straight to Tokyo. It was a dream, it was absolutely fantastic. I owe this to Gea and Burberry.

She is a super horse. Before I got her she had already medalled as a para horse at the Rio 2016 Paralympics with Dutch Demi Vermeulen and was an international Children horse (Amber Schelstraete). Burberry had the experience that I was lacking. Sometimes she was difficult, she is a mare (laughs), but she was the very best teacher for me. She started my international para career, I went to Tokyo, to the Worlds in Herning and the Europeans in Riesenbeck with her.

ED: Is she still with you?

FS: She retired from sport in 2024 and is now in my parents' stable. Sometimes the children are riding her and she is in a really good shape.

ED: In Paris you were already riding your recent horse who seems to have a great spirit.

FS: Yes, Leonardo (KWPN by Governor x Uphill). In 2023 Burberry was 17 and the same year Gea gave Leo to me to become her successor. Unlike Burberry he was a younger and an inexperienced horse then. At the beginning I was a little bit scared of him because he himself first was scared of all and everything, also of other horses.

I then did a lot of work with him from the ground and spent lots of time with him in the stable. I really tried to build a relationship with him so he trusts me.

Now Leo is ten and he has changed a lot. I have a very good and close relationship with him. He is still afraid of the farrier, but when I stay with him he is okay, when I am not there he becomes crazy on that occasion. So dressage training of course is an important part, but it's equally important that you get a good relationship with your horse. If you compete and you feel the horse is completely with you, it is the very best feeling.

ED: Who has helped you with Leo training-wise?

FS: It was again Gea (Einaudi) who helped and encouraged me to leave Italy to look how the champions work. So in 2023 I went to Belgium, to Waregem, to work with Michèle George. I trained with her for six months and she helped me develop Leo. I stayed in the living quarters of our truck during that time.

Afterwards I went to The Netherlands and stayed there for two years and trained with Bert Rutten until 2025. He is a good trainer. The first time I was training with him he said nothing, he was not speaking. He just said, 'You have to ride and I am going to tell you if it is good or not.' Through him I understood a lot of things and with him I grew up as a rider.

I also have to mention Antonio Ragno, a gentleman who specializes in young horse training and who just as a friend, taught me many exercises and sparked my passion for the world of horsemanship.

ED: You contested successfully with the able bodied in jumping and eventing. Did you feel going to para dressage was a step back in a way?

The prothesis Federica uses when riding and
allows her to hold the left rein

FS: No, not at all. Of course when I was first approached with the idea of switching the para dressage I did not want to do it because I loved eventing so much, but when I entered this new world of para dressage I soon realized it is not easy. I think the judges want to see something different, they want to see harmony. And the level is consistently rising.

ED: What do you do in real life?

FS: First I studied psychology, but it was difficult to combine my horsey life with it, so I stopped. The focus is now entirely on my riding. After those years away from home I returned to Italy and now I am training young riders at my parents’ facility and work as a riding instructor.

ED: Para dressage has become a sport which requires an outstanding horse and the costs seem tremendous. How do you finance it?

FS: I am in a very lucky position with Gea Einaudi because this is an expensive sport and she supports me tremendously. And she is a real horse woman. She is not like a sponsor who expects wins or puts you under pressure to deliver. She is doing it for her own pleasure, she likes to see Leo and me develop.

ED: Now that you are back in Italy, who helps you with the training at the moment?

FS: I come from Tuscany, but I go to Milan for training. I now train with Norma Paoli. She is a strong trainer, she is very good and focused. Before an international show I prepare at her place for about a month and I always try to absorb as much as possible which I then use for my training at home.

ED: What does training at home looks like for Leonardo?

FS: Leonardo is ridden six times a week and one day he has off. However, I do not train dressage every day. We also do cavaletti work and hacks. For dressage horses it is very important to have a change and not always work strictly on dressage.

ED: How important is para dressage within the equestrian community in Italy?

Federica and Leonardo with Alessandro Benedetti
( and trainer Norma Paoli at CPEDI Mannheim 2026

SF: The federation tries to give importance to the sport, but the problem in Italy is that we do not have many athletes. It is true that Sara (Morganti) wins a lot, but all in all we need more people. The problem is that at the beginning families are a bit scared because it is an expensive sport and this is not easy for the families. If you are on the team and you go to an international show, the federation pays the expenses.

ED: This year there are the World Championships at Aachen. How do you prepare for them?

SF: I went to Ornago in spring, now I am at Mannheim and then it is the second show in Ornago in July, so only three internationals. I really hope that at Aachen I can improve because in Ermelo last year Leonardo reached the freestyle final for the first time. I always want to improve and get better results. With Francesca Salvadé and Sara Morganti Italian para dressage has two exceptional riders who contribute enormously to our team’s results.