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Roxanne Trunnell and Dolton Break Paralympic Record to Clinch Gold on Final Day of Equestrian Competition of Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020

by U.S. Equestrian Communications Department | Aug 30, 2021, 12:09 PM

Tokyo, JapanRoxanne Trunnell (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Dolton, a nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Flintewoode Farms LLC & Karin Flint, secured their second gold-medal of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 win the FEI Grade I Freestyle to Music, earning an 86.927 percent. Richards Snikus (LAT) and King of the Dance collected the silver medal with a score of 82.087 percent, while Sara Morganti (ITA) and Royal Delight earned the bronze with an 81.100. Trunnell and Dolton secured their first gold on Friday in the FEI Individual Test before helping the U.S. Para Dressage Team earn their historic team bronze medal yesterday and will leave Tokyo with two individual gold medals and a team bronze.

Roxanne Trunnell and Dolton
US Equestrian

The duo was last to go in the order of go this evening in Grade I competition and left the best for last to close out the equestrian competition at Equestrian Park in Tokyo, Japan. With the pressure on, Trunnell and Dolton delivered, securing a Paralympic record to remember.

“He was really with the music and marching today like we really wanted,” said Trunnell. “All of the little points were really there. This means a lot. We moved for Dolton and that was the right choice and this has always been one of my biggest goals.”

The pair, who debuted in 2017, have continued to build their partnership and with Dolton still very early in his career, the future is incredibly bright. Trained by Andrea Woodard in Wellinton, Fla., Trunnell and Dolton made significant improvements to their score over the last two years and started to break the 80 percent mark consistently in the last few months. As for their music, the pair ride to a medley from the Forrest Gump soundtrack, which accentuates Dolton’s impressive walk gait.

“I love it. I didn’t pick the music, he [Dolton] sort of did, and he really loves his freestyle,” she explained. “I thought the stretch down today was a highlight because he was really stretching.

The U.S. Para Dressage Team also saw Beatrice de Lavalette (Lake Worth Beach, Fla.) and Clarc, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Elizabeth & Nicholas de Lavalette finish in sixth place in the FEI Grade II Freestyle to Music with a score of 72.194 percent, while Kate Shoemaker (Wellington, Fla.) and Solitaer 40, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Deena, Craig, & Kate Shoemaker, earned fourth in the FEI Grade IV Freestyle to Music with a 74.910 percent.

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