| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born | 26 April 1970 Saanichton, British Columbia, Canada [1] |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Sport | Equestrian |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Paralympic finals | 2004, 2008 |
Medal record | |
Karen Brain (born 26 April 1970) is a Canadian Paralympic equestrian. She won two medals in the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
Karen Brain was born in Victoria in 1970 to Darlene and Bill Brain. She began horseback riding with her sister at Oak Meadows Farm when she was 8 years old. By age 9, she was learning to jump. At 11 years old, Brain got her first horse, Patty, a 15.3 hh chestnut Thoroughbred. A year and a half later, Brain sold Patty and purchased Pumpkin, an American Quarter Horse. Brain continued to advance on Pumpkin, earning ribbons in various classes. In 1983, Brain met Alpine Renegade (Alpo), a 6 year old 15 hh gelding. The two had early successes, leading Brain to buy him in 1983. In 1984, Brain was deeply immersed in horseback riding, working and riding at Spring Ride Farm. She began eventing on Alpo, winning her first pre-training event in 1985 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. In 1987, Brain participated in the Western Canada Summer Games in Regina, Saskatchewan. She placed fifth in preliminary-level three day eventing. In 1988, at age 18, Brain moved to Ontario and began working for Nick Holmes-Smith. In November 1988, Brain was selected for a scholarship to train with Mark Phillips in England. In February 1989, Brain and Alpo flew to England. In April 1989, Brain's horse Alpo was injured at the Gatwick Horse Trials. This injury highlighted Alpo's limitations as a small horse. When Brain returned to Canada and began to seriously prepare for the Olympics, she made the decision to sell Alpo. In 1992, while working at Hunt Valley Farm in Victoria, Brain found Merlin, a 15.3 HH Thoroughbred she dubbed Double Take. The team competed at events across North America throughout the 1990s. [2]
On September 18, 2001, Karen Brain fell off her horse Miko, shattering her T12 vertebrae and puncturing a lung. The accident resulted in incomplete paraplegia. [2]
Karen Brain competed in the 2004 Summer Paralympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics. She won bronze in individual championship dressage and individual freestyle dressage at the 2004 Paralympics. She placed 10th in the individual freestyle dressage and 7th in team dressage at the 2008 Paralympics [3]
Laurentia Tan Yen Yi BBM PBM, is a Singaporean para-equestrian competitor. Tan developed cerebral palsy and profound deafness after birth, and moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of three. She took up horse riding aged five years as a form of physiotherapy. She subsequently completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf, and graduated with an honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in hospitality management and tourism.
Anne Patricia Dunham OBE is a British Para-equestrian who has competed in the Paralympic Games.
Sophie Margaret Christiansen, CBE is an English equestrian who has competed in four successive Paralympic Games. In 2012 and 2016 she gained three gold medals at the Paralympics. In 2008 she won two gold medals and a silver at the Beijing Paralympics whilst studying for a master's degree in mathematics at Royal Holloway, University of London. She works as a software developer at investment bank, Goldman Sachs and as a disability campaigner. She qualified for the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics but had to drop out due to her horse not being fit.
Rosalie Fahey is a Paralympic equestrian competitor from Australia. She won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the Mixed Dressage – Championship grade I event.
Marita Hird is a Paralympic equestrian competitor from Australia. She won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Games in the Mixed Dressage – Freestyle grade III event.
Jan Pike ' is a Paralympic equestrian competitor from Australia. She was born in Sydney, New South Wales. Pike won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Games in the Mixed Dressage - Freestyle grade I event and a silver medal in the Mixed Dressage - Championship grade I event.
Joann Formosa, is an Australian Para-equestrian, who won a gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events: One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dressage, but with riders divided into different competition grades based on their functional abilities. The other is para-equestrian driving, which operates under the same basic rules as combined driving but places competitors in various grades based on their functional abilities.
Sophie Wells is a British para-equestrian who won three medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, and 2 Golds and 1 Silver at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, and most recently Team Gold & Individual Silver at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Natasha Louise Baker is a British para-equestrian who won 2 gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, 3 at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and 1 more in the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Deborah Criddle MBE is a British para-equestrian who won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and three medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Lauren Barwick is a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team, in grade II Para-Dressage, who has competed in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games. She won three medals in those games. Barwick has featured in CBC's Heartland and has several awards.
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Sharon Jarvis is an Australian para-equestrian. She represented Australia at the three Summer Paralympics - 2008 Beijing, 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo.
Rebecca Hart is a para-equestrian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hart was born with a rare genetic disease, Familial spastic paraplegia (FSP). FSP affected Hart as a child with difficulty gaining strength in her upper body as well as slowing down her motor development.
Nicola Tustain is a retired Welsh Paralympic dressage rider. During her career, Tustain won multiple para-dressage medals at the World Championships and Paralympic Games. She was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2010.
Iréne Slättengren is a Swedish former equestrian and audiologist. She won gold medals in the individual championship test grade II and individual freestyle test grade II dressage events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Amelia White is an Australian para-equestrian. She represented Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Georgia Wilson is a British equestrian, who won bronze in the individual championship test grade II and individual freestyle test grade II events at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She also won the individual championship grade II event at the 2019 FEI European Championships.
Suzanna Hext is a British swimmer and equestrian, who won three gold medals in dressage at the 2017 FEI European Championships, and two medals at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. She finished fourth in two S5 swimming events at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
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