Hometown: Wellington, Fla Birthday: 8/19/1990 Sport/Disciplines: Para-Equestrian

Marie Vonderheyden is a former eventing competitor for France and now represents the U.S. in para-dressage at Grade I. She and London Swing, Eleanor Brimmer and Liza Macmillan’s 2002 Hanoverian gelding, were part of the Adequan® U.S. Para Dressage Team that won the team competition at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) 3 CPEDI3* in January 2020. Vonderheyden was a successful eventing competitor at the FEI level in France until 2012. She relocated to the U.S. in 2013 and worked as a professional rider for show jumper Alison Firestone. In 2015, a horse she was hacking spooked and she fell, resulting in a severe traumatic brain injury. Vonderheyden spent two months in a coma after the accident and lost much of her memory. Over the next two years, she began to relearn how to walk, speak, and do basic tasks. Vonderheyden returned to riding first as part of her equine-assisted therapy. She began competing in para-dressage in 2019 and earned all top-10 placings in her first CPEDI3* at the 2019 Adequan/USEF Para Dressage National Championships and Tryon Fall 2 FEI CPEDI3*. She and London Swing kicked off the 2020 competition season with a personal best of 76.000% in the FEI Grade I Freestyle at the finishes at the AGDF 1 CPEDI3*. The FEI recognized Vonderheyden’s resilience and success in 2019 when she was named as a finalist for the Against All Odds award. The award recognizes equestrians who have worked through difficult circumstances to achieve their goals.