| Kevin Van Ham | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Nationality | Belgian | ||||||||
| Discipline | Para-dressage | ||||||||
| Born | 22 July 1989 (age 35) | ||||||||
| Horse(s) | Eros Van Ons Heem | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||
Kevin Van Ham (born 22 July 1989) is a Paralympic equestrian of Belgium, competing in Test Grade V.
| Kevin Van Ham | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Nationality | Belgian | ||||||||
| Discipline | Para-dressage | ||||||||
| Born | 22 July 1989 (age 35) | ||||||||
| Horse(s) | Eros Van Ons Heem | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||
Kevin Van Ham (born 22 July 1989) is a Paralympic equestrian of Belgium, competing in Test Grade V.
Van Ham was born with a piece of his left forearm missing. He has been riding horses since he was 12. [1]
Van Ham started out in the able-bodied Dressage circuit and switched to Para-dressage in 2017. [2]
Van Ham participated in his first international para-competition in 2018 and a year later he recorded his first scores above 70% at the CPEDI (Concours Para Équestre de Dressage International) competitions in Uberhernn (Germany) [3] and Stadl-Paura (Austria) [4] with his horse Eros Van Ons Heem. [5]
Van Ham first represented Belgium in an international competition in the Para-dressage events at the 2019 FEI European Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where he finished fifth in both the Individual Test Grade V [6] and the Freestyle Test Grade V. [7] [8]
Van Ham was selected for both the 2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics. In Tokyo, Japan he finished 7th in the Individual Test Grade V and 8th in the Freestyle Test Grade V. [9] [10] In Paris, France he did better in both disciplines, finishing 6th in the Individual Test Grade V and 5th in the Freestyle Test Grade V. [11] [12] [13] [14]
In 2020 he participated in his first FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark finishing 4th in the Individual Test Grade V and 7th in the Freestyle Test Grade V. [9]
Van Ham is gay and lives with his partner Jeffrey. [2] [15] He lives near Leuven and besides riding he also teaches and works full time in retail. [8]
Isabell Werth is a German equestrian who has competed in dressage at seven Olympic Games —1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016, 2020, 2024— winning the gold medal in the team event in all seven, and one gold and six silver medals in the individual event. She stands alone in having medals from seven Olympics, or across a span of 32 years; her 14 medals are the most for any German or equestrian. She also has numerous titles in the World and European Championships and World Cups.
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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.
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