Para-equestrian classification

Para-equestrian classification is a system for para-equestrian sport is a graded system based on the degree of physical or visual disability and handled at the international level by the FEI. The sport has eligible classifications for people with physical and vision disabilities. Groups of eligible riders include The sport is open to competitors with impaired muscle power, athetosis, impaired passive range of movement, hypertonia, limb deficiency, ataxia, leg length difference, short stature, and vision impairment. They are grouped into five different classes to allow fair competition. These classes are Grade Ia, Grade Ib, Grade II, Grade III, and Grade IV. The para-equestrian classification does not consider the gender of the rider, as equestrines compete in mixed gender competitions.

In 1983, classification for cerebral palsy competitors in this sport was done by the Cerebral Palsy-International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA). They defined cerebral palsy as a non-progressive brain legion that results in impairment. People with cerebral palsy or non-progressive brain damage were eligible for classification by them. The organisation also dealt with classification for people with similar impairments. For their classification system, people with spina bifida were not eligible unless they had medical evidence of loco-motor dysfunction. People with cerebral palsy and epilepsy were eligible provided the condition did not interfere with their ability to compete. People who had strokes were eligible for classification following medical clearance. Competitors with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and arthrogryposis were not eligible for classification by CP-ISRA, but were eligible for classification by International Sports Organisation for the Disabled for the Games of Les Autres.

The CP-ISRA used the classification system designed for field athletics events. In 1983, there were five cerebral palsy classifications. Class 1 competitors could compete in the Division 1, Class 1 and Class 2 events, while riding with a leader and 2 siderwalkers and/or a backwalker. In 1990, the Equestrian Australia did not have specific classifications for competitors with disabilities. Acknowledging membership needs though, some rules had organically developed that looked like classifications based on rule modification for different disability types. These included acknowledging one-armed riders were not required to hold the reins in both arms, riders with hearing loss were given visual signals instead of audio signals at the start of and during an event, and blind riders, when they reached a marker, were given an auditory signal. When the sport was undergoing growth in 1995, a classification system was established in order to provide a level playing field for competitors. The system developed at the time was called "Functional Profile System for Grading" and was largely created by Christine Meaden, who had IPEC classifier status. By 1999, there were four classifications for competitors and 120 accredited equestrian classifiers around the world. At the New York hosted Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged, para-equestrian competition was broken into hearing and vision impaired classifications, amputee classifications, Les Autres, cerebral palsy and spinal cord disabilities.

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