Hometown: Royal Palm Beach, Fla. Birthday: 4/26/1985 Sport/Disciplines: Para-Equestrian Paralympic Years: 2016, 2020
Roxanne "Roxie" Trunnell is a Paralympic individual gold medalist for Grade I and as part of the bronze medal-winning U.S. Para Dressage Team from Tokyo 2020. She is a two-time Paralympian (Tokyo 2020 and Rio de Janeiro 2016) and two-time FEI World Equestrian Games™ U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team member (Tryon 2018 and Normandy 2014). At the WEG Tryon 2018 she and Dolton won the bronze medal in the FEI Grade I Freestyle. Trunnell was ranked No. 1 in the world for 26 months in 2020 through 2022, per the FEI Para Dressage World Indiviudal Ranking, and has broken numerous records, including receiving numerous scores over the 80% mark over the past two years aboard her mount Dolton.
Horses have always been a part of Roxanne “Roxie” Trunnell’s life. As a competitor in able-bodied dressage, Trunnell aspired to be an Olympian. She earned a United States Dressage Federation (USDF) bronze medal and was close to obtaining her silver medal until contracting a virus in 2009 that caused swelling in her brain that changed her life forever. The virus put her in a coma and resulted in her requiring a wheelchair. However, she refused to let this stifle her dreams. Trunnell elicited the help of her family and friends to get her back in the saddle. After a long recovery, Trunnell slowly began to ride again and completed her Masters in Psychology with a focus in Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Striving to compete, Trunnell thought para-equestrian dressage was the perfect avenue. In November of 2012, she was classified Grade 1a, and by May 2013, she rode in her first CPEDI at the Golden State Dressage Show in Rancho Murrieta, Calif. Since 2013, she has delivered top-three placings consistently, contributing to U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team success.
In 2021, Trunnell won at every outing in the first half of the year. She and Dolton swept the Grade I classes and helped earn two Perrigo CPEDI3* team wins at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival during weeks three and nine. At the Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI3*, Trunnell and Dolton again won the team competition and each of the Grade I classes, including a world record score of 89.522% for an FEI Para Dressage Freestyle Test.
Trunnell is off to a great 2022 season with her new horse, Lehua Custer’s Fortunato H20, as they won the Grade I CPEDI3* Freestyle and Individual classes at Tryon Summer Dressage in North Carolina.