Karen Brain (born 26 April 1970) is a Canadian Paralympic equestrian. She won two medals in the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympi ...

Early life

Karen Brain was born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1970 to Darlene and Bill Brain. She began horseback riding with her sister at Oak Meadows Farm when she was 8 years old. By age 9, she was learning to jump. At 11 years old, Brain got her first horse, Patty, a 15.3 hh chestnut

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

. A year and a half later, Brain sold Patty and purchased Pumpkin, an American Quarter Horse. Brain continued to advance on Pumpkin, earning ribbons in various classes. In 1983, Brain met Alpine Renegade (Alpo), a 6 year old 15 hh gelding. The two had early successes, leading Brain to buy him in 1983. In 1984, Brain was deeply immersed in horseback riding, working and riding at Spring Ride Farm. She began eventing on Alpo, winning her first pre-training event in 1985 in

Maple Ridge, British Columbia Maple Ridge is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the northeastern section of Greater Vancouver between the Fraser River and the Golden Ears, which is a group of mountain summits which are the southernmost of the Garibald ...

. In 1987, Brain participated in the

Western Canada Summer Games The Western Canada Summer Games (WCSG) were established in 1975 as a multi-sport event to provide development opportunities for amateur athletes and to help them advance their skills in a competitive, but friendly environment. Athletes range in ...

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

. She placed fifth in preliminary-level three day eventing. In 1988, at age 18, Brain moved to Ontario and began working for Nick Holmes-Smith. In November 1988, Brain was selected for a scholarship to train with

Mark Phillips Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September 1948) is an English Olympic gold medal-winning horseman for Great Britain and the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he has two children. He remains a leading figure in Briti ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In February 1989, Brain and Alpo flew to England. In April 1989, Brain's horse Alpo was injured at the Gatwick Horse Trials. This injury highlighted Alpo's limitations as a small horse. When Brain returned to Canada and began to seriously prepare for the Olympics, she made the decision to sell Alpo. In 1992, while working at Hunt Valley Farm in Victoria, Brain found Merlin, a 15.3 HH

she dubbed Double Take. The team competed at events across North America throughout the 1990s.

Accident

On September 18, 2001, Karen Brain fell off her horse Miko, shattering her T12 vertebrae and puncturing a lung. The accident resulted in incomplete paraplegia.

Paralympics

Karen Brain competed in the

and the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...

. She won bronze in individual championship dressage and individual freestyle dressage at the 2004 Paralympics. She placed 10th in the individual freestyle dressage and 7th in team dressage at the 2008 Paralympics

Honours & Awards

* Awarded the 1989

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...

scholarship to train with Captain

in Scotland and England * Won the Horse Trials Canada Scholarship in 1997 * Featured on the Cover of Horse & Sport Magazine in 1997 * Featured on the cover of Horse & Country Magazine in 1998 * Nominated for the Courage to Come Back Award in 2005 * Awarded the British Columbia Premier's Athletic Award in 2005 * Torchbearer at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

* Won the Disabled Spelling Bee competition in 1998

References

External links

Website
1970 births Living people Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in equestrian Paralympic equestrians for Canada {{Canada-equestrian-bio-stub