Two Region 9 Para-Riders Going to WEG
We have two competitors in Region 9 that are going to the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC in September. One is Roxanne Trunnell, a Grade I competitor who is also an Olympian (Rio de Janiero, Brazil) and competed at WEG 2014 (Caen, France). The other is Katie Jackson, a Grade V competitor, who, while not one of the team members, is one of the reserves.
Roxie is ranked 12th in the world overall (in para-dressage), and is ranked 7th in the world in Grade I.
Katie is ranked 34th in the world overall (in para-dressage), and is ranked 4th in the world in Grade V.
Roxie has made the US Team for 2018 WEG, and Katie is first alternate.
Donations can be made by going to www.uspea.org and scroll to the bottom of the page where it has a red “Donate Now” this will take you to a page to specify amount, and make a notation as to which athletes you choose to support.
If you donate through the USPEA website, please let Katie and Roxie know that you have, so that they can thank you. The Treasurer of USPEA has a busy vet practice, and there is sometimes a time delay between the donation and the thank you. Katie’s email address is KatieJDressage@gmail.com and Roxie’s email address is RoxieTrunnell@yahoo.com
Katie Jackson
In 2015 to save her life, Katie’s right leg was amputated due to an aggressive cancer. She has overcome many obstacles to become a top dressage competitor. Her current horse is Diesel, a 15 year old Oldenburg gelding, and the pair is in training with Catherine Haddad Staller. Katie has turned tragedy into triumph. Some of her accomplishments are: she is a seven time Gold Medalist on the Deloitte United States Para-Equestrian Team, she has been a member of Team USA in all 7 international level competitions, she was the Grade V Para-Equestrian National Champion is 2016 & 2017, and a USDF Silver Medalist in 2018.
Roxie Trunnell
Roxie rode able-bodied dressage and began competing at recognized shows around 2001. She earned her USDF Rider’s Bronze Medal in 2003, and was on track to earn her Silver. Sometime around 2009, Roxie came down with a mysterious illness that caused her brain to swell, the resulting consequences were loss of balance, an inability to ambulate, as well as other sequelae. In the years that followed, she has worked extremely hard to rehabilitate, and her horse, Nice Touch (Touché) was part of that program. Roxanne progressed to ride at the World Equestrian Games in Caen in 2014, and at the Paralympics in Rio de Janiero in 2016. She has made Team USA for the 2018 WEG with Dolton, a 6 year old Hanoverian gelding owned by Kate Shoemaker.
(Photos courtesy of the respective individuals’ website and Facebook pages)