Irish Horse Board – Guide to the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris
The 2024 Paralympic games is underway in Paris, with Ireland’s Para Dressage athletes set to begin their competitions at the Games this Tuesday September 3rd. with four days of Para Dressage to look forward to. Ireland is represented at the Games by four Para Dressage athletes – Kate Kerr Horan, Sarah Slattery, Jessica McKenna and Michael Murphy.
Paris 2024
Paris will see a total of 78 athletes across the five grades – I, II, III, IV and V. There will be Individual and Freestyle competitions within each grade as well as a Team event for three-athlete teams.
Grade I is the category for the athletes who have the least body function and will be ridden in walk only. Grades II and III are ridden in walk and trot, and Grades IV and V will be ridden in both walk, trot and canter, being the grades where the athletes have the highest body function.
Sold out venue
Both spectators and athletes are guaranteed a memorable experience, when the Para Dressage athletes turn down the centreline with the great Chateau de Versailles in the background. And the athletes will not lack support; the equestrian venue at Versailles was one of the first two Paralympic venues to sell out this year. The full stadium at the Paris 2024 will be a sharp contrast to the Tokyo Paralympic Games, where the whole stadium was left empty due to covid restrictions.
Where To Watch
RTE will provide extensive coverage of the Paris Paralympic Games on with coverage on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, watch live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player or listen to updates and live commentaries with RTÉ Radio.
You can also follow the action on the International Paralympic Committee website (geo-blocking policies may apply).
Irish Athletes in Profile
Kate Kerr Horan
Age: 31
Hometown: Tinahely, Co Wicklow
Coach: Donie McNamara
Horse: Lykkedbo’s Don Akino
Disability: Hemiplegia
Sport Class: Grade III
Kate has been on the Irish High Performance team since 2011, was ninth in the World Equestrian Games in 2014 and finished eighth at the European Championships in 2017. She made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo.
She enjoyed a brilliant 2019, placing high in three star competitions in Doha, Waregem, Kronenberg and Hartpury before making the podium in Keysoe where they scored their PB of 71% in the Freestyle. Kate broke her wrist at the start of 2020 and then Covid intervened and limited their international competitions since.
When Kate was a toddler she was found unconscious in the family’s fields, possibly kicked by a horse. Her parents were told she might not walk again and she spent a year in the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH). She needed a tracheostomy (pieces of her ribs were inserted into her vocal chords) to help her breath until she was 11 and is weaker on her left side. Yet she recovered not only to ride but to compete in able-bodied and para-dressage.
Schedule:
Day 6 – September 3rd
Grade III Individual 10:00 – 19:00
Day 10 – September 7th
Para Grand Prix Freestyle Test 10:00 – 18:10 (dependent on day 6 results)
Sarah Slattery
Age: 34
Hometown: Tynagh, Co. Galway
Coach: Niels Bax
Horse: Savona
Disability: Impaired muscle power & range of movement in left arm and hand
Sport Class: Grade V
Paris will mark Sarah’s debut at the Paralympic Games. As the daughter of renowned international show jumper Tom Slattery, Sarah has been in the saddle since childhood. At just eight years old, she faced a formidable challenge, battling a rare form of cancer that nearly cost her an arm and left her with significant strength and mobility challenges. However, Sarah’s resilience and determination saw her swiftly return to horse riding after her recovery.
Although Sarah had been involved with horses her entire life, she only began competing in para dressage internationally three years ago. Last year, she competed in her first European Championships, just six months after giving birth to her second daughter, Millie. In 2021, Sarah won the Irish Winter National Para Dressage Final, and in 2023, she placed third with her new horse, Savona, in the CPEDI3* in Belgium.
In 2024, Sarah achieved her personal best score in the Grand Prix B test in Waregem, Belgium. She was also a key member of the Irish team that finished second at Hartpury.
In addition to her equestrian pursuits, Sarah is a trained beauty therapist. She has taken a small break from her career to focus on raising her two daughters and preparing for the Paralympic Games. Over the summer, Sarah has been based at her sister’s show jumping yard in the Netherlands.
Schedule:
Day 7 – September 4th
Grade V Individual 10:00 – 15:40
Day 9 – September 6th
Team Equestrian 10:00 – 18:00
Day 10 – September 7th
Para Grand Prix Freestyle Test 10:00 – 18:10 (dependent on day 7/9 results)
Jessica McKenna
Age: 23
Hometown: Cork
Coach: Elder Klatzko
Horse: Davidoff 188
Disability: Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy
Sport Class: Grade III
Born in Belfast, Jessica moved to Cork at age of three. She started riding at the age of six as a form of physiotherapy. She is currently studying Equine Business Management at Hartpury University in England
Her first international debut was in Addington 2023. In September 2023 she was selected for the European championships in Riesenbeck coming 6th overall. She then moved her horse Davidoff 188 to Bath to train with her coach Elder Klatzko in October 2023.
Jessica will make her Paralympic debut in Paris.
Schedule:
Day 6 – September 3rd
Grade III Individual 8:00
Day 9 – September 6th
Team Equestrian 8:30
Day 10 – September 7th
Para Grand Prix Freestyle Test 14:28 (dependent on day 7/9 results)
Michael Murphy
Age: 27
Hometown: St. Barnet, Mill Hill, West London
Coach: Elder Klatzko
Horse: Clever Boy
Disability: Peripheral neuropathy
Sport Class: Grade 1
Michael first competed for Ireland in the Hartpury three star in 2018, a big moment as he was returning to the sport for the first time in three years, after struggling with motivation after the loss of his eldest brother James in a kayaking accident in New Zealand in 2015. He represented Ireland at the Tokyo Games, his first Paralympics on ‘Clever Boy’ (aka ‘Charlie’).
Michael is a permanent wheelchair user. He was born, in London, with a rare progressive disorder called Dejerine Sottas (a peripheral neuropathy which lessens reflexes, sensation, muscle tone and motor control). He had a double spinal fusion when he was 14 and is a permanent wheelchair user.
He graduated with a biology degree from the University of Warwick last year and works as an environmental advisor for a large construction company in London. His grandmother is from Belfast, his grandfather is from Cork and, in 2012, Michael was a torch bearer on one of the relay legs for the London Olympics.
Schedule:
Day 6 – September 3rd
Grade I Individual 10:00 – 19:00
Day 9 – September 6th
Team Equestrian 10:00 – 18:00
Day 10 – September 7th
Para Grand Prix Freestyle Test 10:00 – 18:10 (dependent on day 7/9 results)