Vladimir Vinchon

Started: He began riding in pony classes at age seven. "I started riding ponies at seven or eight. Then I went into an apprenticeship at 15 in the east of France near Verdun. I went on to become a steeple-chase jockey until 1994 when my accident stopped everything." He took up Para equestrian in 2006, starting first with jumping before moving to dressage. (Facebook profile, 18 May 2024; equidia.fr, 23 Aug 2021; vladimirvinchon.fr, 01 Sep 2014; ouest-france.fr, 28 Aug 2014) Reason: He was involved in a car accident in 1994, the day after he secured a victory in a horse race in Belgium. After the incident, he had his right leg amputated. "After months of rehabilitation, I learned to walk and adapt my prosthesis. But the desire to ride a horse remained. I kept in touch with the horse-racing world. I played wheelchair basketball for five or six years, but team sport didn't win me over so I eventually came back to my first love, horses, in 2006." (equidia.fr, 23 Aug 2021; leparisien.fr, 16 Mar 2018) Ambition: To win a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (vladimirvinchon.com, 07 Apr 2022) Additional Info: HORSE NAME CHANGE The name of his primary horse was changed from 'Fidertanz For Rosi' to 'Pegase Mayenne' in mid-2023. The name represents the department of Mayenne in north-western France, for which Vinchon is a sporting ambassador. Having ridden the horse with its previous name at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, he said the plan was always for the horse to mature in time for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. "His [Pegase Mayenne's] sporting development began at Tokyo [2020], with the longer goal of the Paralympic Games in Paris. Today [2024], he has matured. Rare will be French riders who can say, 'I competed at Chateau Versailles', so I want to make my contribution to French equestrian sport by bringing home a medal." (ouest-france.fr, 11 May 2024, 15 May 2023) OCCUPATION He works as a coordinator for an electricity distribution company in Laval, France. (LinkedIn profile, 09 May 2024; Vladimir Vinchon newsletter, 01 Oct 2023)