| Native Name: | Carlos Parro |
| Nickname: | Caca |
| National Team: | Brazil |
| Birth Date: | June 5, 1979 |
| Birth Place: | Colina, Brazil |
| Occupation: | Professional equestrian |
| Spouse: | Nicola |
| Country: | Brazil |
| Club: | Hartill Stud, Great Britain |
| Coach: | Mark Todd, Charlotte Dujardin, Robert Smith |
Carlos Paro (alternatively spelled Parro) (born June 5, 1979, in Colina, Brazil) is an event rider who won a team bronze medal in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007, a team silver medal in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada and an Individual Bronze and team Silver in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru in eventing for Brazil.[1] He has competed in four Olympic games: the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,[2] the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[3]
Paro began riding at age seven and started eventing at age 8, in Colina, Brazil. In 1997, he travelled to the United Kingdom to train with Christopher Bartle.
Paro's first major event was the World Equestrian Games in Rome in 1998 at the age of 19, where he finished the team competition in 9th place. He also won the team gold medal in the South American Games in Belo Horizonte in 2001.
In 2002, he relocated permanently to the U.K. He was named as a reserve for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and a few days before the Games started, he was called into the team as one of the horses was injured, but due to a misunderstanding in the Brazilian Equestrian Federation (CBH – Confederacao Brasileira de Hipismo) his forms were never sent to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) which meant he wasn't allowed to compete.
In July 2015, Carlos Parro rode as one of the team members for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, riding Calcourt Landline. The team won the silver medal just a few marks behind the USA.
Parro competed at his second Summer Olympics in 2016. At the Games held in front of his home crowd in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he finished 7th in the team competition and 18th individually with the horse Summon Up The Blood.
In 2019 with a new horse, Quaikin Qurious, Carlos Parro won the individual bronze medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and the team Silver medal, which qualified the Brazilian Eventing Team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
In October 2022, Carlos won an individual and team gold medal at the South American Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina riding Tullabeg Chinzano.
In 2024, Paro was selected to ride for Brazil in the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. After scoring a 37.70 in their dressage test,[4] Paro was issued a Yellow card by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) when pictures emerged showing him hyper-flexing Safira's neck, using a Rollkur position.[5] [6] In their decision, the FEI suggested the athlete's conduct could cause unnecessary discomfort to the horse, and compromise its breathing.[7] He was not disqualified from the competition. When asked about the incident, Parro attributed the actions to his horse Safira, recounting, "she did it by herself".[8]
After the cross-country phase of the event, Paro did not present Safira for the vet inspection prior to show jumping. They subsequently withdrew from the competition.[9]
| Results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Horse | Placing | Notes | ||||||
| 2022 | South American Championship, Buenos Aires ARG | Tullabeg Chinzano | Team | |||||||
| Individual | ||||||||||
| 2021 | Olympic Games, Tokyo JAP | Goliath | 32nd | |||||||
| 2019 | Event Riders Master, Millstreet IRE | Calcourt Landline | 7th | |||||||
| 2019 | Pan American Games, Lima PER | Quaikin Qurious | Team | |||||||
| Individual | ||||||||||
| 2019 | Haras De Jardy, FRA | Tullabeg Chinzano | 1st | |||||||
| 2016 | Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro BRA | Summon Up The Blood | 7th | Team | ||||||
| 18th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2015 | Pan American Games, Toronto CAN | Calcourt Landline | Team | |||||||
| 6th | Individual | |||||||||
| 2007 | Pan American Games, Rio de Janeiro BRA | Political Mandate | Team | |||||||
| 14th | Individual | |||||||||