Hearing the voices of experienced equestrians with disabilities

The purpose was to examine the personal meaning of equestrian sport participation to advanced level competitors with acquired disabilities in relation to its impact on their lives as well as the barriers and supports. Participants were 8 equestrians, ages 38 to 56, (7 females, 1 male), who competed in dressage against others with disabilities at a National Championship conducted primarily for able-bodied riders. Data were collected through participant-observation and semi-structured interviews, interpreted by qualitative methodology based on constructivist grounded theory (Glaser, 1994) and checked for truth value and theoretical sensitivity. Four themes emerged: (a) constructing equestrian identity, (b) engaging in equestrian sport, (c) becoming one with a horse, and (d) deriving meaning. Both supports and barriers centered on the human-horse bond and the variables that increased or decreased communication and trust with the horse during competition.