Press and Media
The Dressage Foundation Announces Recipients Of Para-Equestrian Dressage Fund Grants
January 14, 2023
The Dressage Foundation (TDF) is proud to announce the recipients of four $1,000 grants from its Para-Equestrian Dressage Fund. This Fund was established in 2018 to provide financial support for para riders to attend educational events that will further their training and goals. Additional funds were donated in 2020 to provide grants specifically for Visually Impaired/Blind Riders.
A recipient of the Para-Equestrian Dressage Fund for VI/Blind Riders is Deborah McAlexander (TX). Deborah was recently added as a USEF Emerging Athlete within their Para-Equestrian Dressage pathway. She has experience riding Saddlebreds and was introduced to para dressage through the Paralympics. Deborah works at the North Texas Equestrian Center, a USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage Center of Excellence, where she helps manage the lesson program. She currently trains with Kai Handt. She plans to use her grant funding to take additional lessons with her horse, Cornet Noir, at the North Texas Equestrian Center.
Deborah said, “At the age of 24, I became totally blind in my left eye, and the eyesight in my right eye was reduced to center tunnel vision. My diagnosis is Retinitis Pigmentosa. I am the first United States equestrian with visual impairment to have received confirmed classification for competition from the International Blind Sports Federation. This grant will help me and my horse continue training toward our long-term goal of qualifying to represent the United States in international competition. In a world blinded by negativity, we are shining lights of hope that nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible when one rides by faith, not by sight. Thank you again for honoring me with this prestigious grant award.”
Deborah and Cornet Noir were featured in the September, 2020, edition of the German equestrian magazine Zucht Blickpunkt. The English translation of the article appears below.
Cornet Noir: Para-Dressage Horse in Texas
In 2009 the performance mare Sternstunde v. Sao Paulo / Argentinus gave birth to a brown colt.
Sabine Zitzeisberger, Schöllnach, had chosen Corlensky G, by Cornet Obolensky out of Arpeggio and thus paved the way for a special horse. Up until 2017 Cornet Noir started successfully in his first shows while Nadine Schefczyk owned him. Under his constant rider Gregor Schefzyck he competed in show jumping classes up to A2*. With his subsequent riders Soenke Kohrock and Christian Utz he was able to reach level M*.
Move to Texas
In 2018 the gelding was eventually imported to Texas by Kai Handt, the former Chef d'Equipe of the American Para-Riders and owner of the North Texas Equestrian Center. Cornet Noir changed ownership there to Deborah McAlexander, para-dressage rider who herself moved to Texas to train with Kai Handt. Deborah is a grade 5 rider because she is completely blind in her left eye and only has minimal vision in her right eye. As the only blind rider who competes in America, she is a great role model for many. Cornet Noir now has a career as a para-dressage horse ahead of him.
The gelding masters the great responsibility of carrying an almost completely blind rider through the dressage arena perfectly. He is careful and has nerves of steel in situations where other horses would be afraid and flee. Gregor Schefczyk was already very convinced of the character of the gelding, stating that he was a little too timid for a competitive career in the big showjumping circuit.
Cornet Noir has now found his calling with Deborah McAlexander. Together the team won the Championship Award of the US Dressage Federation Region 9 Southwest Championships and qualified for the Para Dressage National Championship. McAlexander and her "Noir" are currently training to qualify for the US Para-Dressage Team, which competes at the Paralympic Games, among other events.
It is always a pleasure to see that horses from Bavaria are well established and, due to their strength of character and sportiness, are at home in all branches of riding. They even achieve success with handicapped people. We are curious to see if Deborah and Cornet Noir will compete in the next Paralympic Games.
Note: The Para-Dressage National Championship status has changed since the article was published. Deborah McAlexander and Cornet Noir will compete next in an Open Show being held in North Carolina.
New Book is Out!
“The Power of Mental Wealth is a cutting-edge book to help you thrive in times of chaos and change."
This book features my story and is available for purchase via Amazon (click on the book to zoom in on the cover image). Click here to go to the book’s page on Amazon.
Here is what others are saying about the book:
“I came to know Deborah through our time riding together at NTEC. She has always been an inspiration to me. Riding in an arena filled with 1,500 lb. animals can be hectic and confusing for a sighted individual, much less one with extremely limited vision. Yet she navigates Noir around the ring just like the rest of us. In reading her chapter in this book I learned even greater detail about her history, passion, and drive to become involved in the Paralympics. It should serve as an inspiration to all of us that you can reach for the stars and with hard work and determination you just might get there no matter your age, physical, or financial limitations.”
Victoria Borowski DDS
As part of the article that Toastmaster, the official magazine of Toastmasters International, ran on Deborah in their September, 2020, edition (see below for that article) they also asked her to sit for an interview. The resulting podcast of that interview can be found by clicking here. The interview runs for 29 minutes. Click, sit back, and enjoy listening!
For this episode of the Qavah Podcast, we will hear from Deborah McAlexander, a world-class equestrian athlete. Her world is far different from ours. She knows things about discipline and dedication beyond what many have personally ever experienced. Because she has such talent, life has taken her to amazing places. But where this talent comes from might surprise you.
Deborah McAlexander’s life radically changed at the age of 24, when she lost something that most of us take for granted. The faith that she was raised with suddenly became real in a whole new way.
CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast where Deborah is interviewed and listen to her tell you her story.
New Video! Click Here to watch Deborah talk about para dressage as part of the:
UT Southwestern 4th Annual Adaptive Sports Expo
Deborah’s segment begins at 13m 11s into the video.
Click Here to read about Deborah in the September, 2020, edition of the Toastmaster, the official magazine of Toastmasters International.
Jefferson City, MO, News Tribune of October 23, 2019
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Jefferson City, MO, News Tribune of October 14, 2019
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Sports Locker Magazine, October, 2019
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Jefferson City, MO, News Tribune of May 12, 2019
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Jefferson City, Mo, News Tribune Article of Dec. 5, 2011 — Pg. 1
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Jefferson City, Mo, News Tribune Article of Dec. 5, 2011 — Pg. 2
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