Paro began riding at age seven and started eventing at age 8, in Colina, Brazil.[3] In 1997, he travelled to the United Kingdom to train with Christopher Bartle.[3]
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.[citation needed] 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.[3] 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.
2024 Paris Olympic Games
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]
