Hometown: Boston, Mass. Birthday: 12/14/1998 Sport/Disciplines: Para-Equestrian Paralympic Years: 2024
Fiona Howard’s riding career began in Great Britain where she was born and raised in England with her American mother and British father. She began riding when she was three and learned jumping, eventing, polocrosse, and polo in Pony Club. A family friend’s reining horses piqued her interest, and she shifted her riding focus when she had the opportunity to qualify for the FEI European Reining Championships for Juniors and Young Riders.
As part of the British Junior Reining Team, Howard was 14 and the youngest rider in the competition when she earned a bronze medal at the 2013 FEI European Reining Championships for Juniors and Young Riders. She competed again as a junior in the FEI European Reining Championships for Juniors and Young Riders in 2016.
Howard immigrated to the U.S. in 2016 and began her para dressage career. Howard returned to the FEI arena as a Grade II para dressage athlete in 2022 at the Perrigo CPEDI3* at the Tryon Summer Dressage with De Nouvelle Vie; the pair placed second in the Grade II Individual, Team, and Freestyle tests.
Howard debuted with several new mounts in 2024. With Diamond Dunes, Howard impressed in both the U.S. and Europe, earning victories across the board in Grade II competition, earning them a spot on their first Paralympic Team for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The duo had an incredibly successful Games, where they helped the U.S. Para Dressage Team earn their first ever Paralympic gold medal in team competition. Their impressive scores helped the team to a final combined score of 235.567; a historical win and the highest Paralympic team score ever recorded in the para-equestrian discipline. The pair also topped the podium in Grade II competition in both the FEI Grand Prix Para Test A Grade II and the FEI Grand Prix Para Freestyle Grade II, earning personal best marks in each of their performances.
Howard and Dunes continued their success in 2025. They represented the U.S. Para Dressage Team at the CPEDI3* during AGDF 9, securing a team win and breaking the current world record in the FEI Grand Prix Para Freestyle Grade II with a score of 83.267%. In February, Howard was announced as World #1 in the FEI Para Dressage World Rankings.
In 2026, after battling through health challenges and surgeries, Howard made her competition debut at AGDF 9 CPEDI3* in March, riding teammate Kate Shoemaker's mare Vianne for the first time. The debut produced three Grade II world records in three starts – 78.85% in the Grand Prix A Test, 80.444% in the Grand Prix B Test (with all three judges awarding 80% or higher), and 84.934% in the Freestyle, a winning margin of more than 18 percentage points – anchoring the U.S. team to a gold-medal finish over Canada.
Ahead of the 2026 FEI Para Dressage World Championships in Aachen, Howard and her Paris 2024 mount, Diamond Dunes, competed together at the Hagen CPEDI3*. As members of the U.S. Para Dressage Team, she and Diamond Dunes helped secure team gold, contributing to a final team score of 458.894. The pair also notched a personal best together in the FEI Para Grand Prix Test B II, earning an 80.833% and finishing atop the class.