Millie Vlasov aboard Gulliver du Saint-Chene turned in an impressive performance in the CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix at the MET Autumn Tour II in Oliva, Spain, finishing 12th out of 50 rider/horse combinations from 19 countries.
Millie and Gullie were unfazed by the rainy conditions on course, navigating Swiss Course Designer Gerard Lachat’s twisting track of 13 obstacles the course in a fast time of 73.80 seconds and going nearly clear until dropping an unlucky rail at Fence #11. Although the dropped rail meant that they could not advance to the jump off, the pair finished on four faults with the 5th fastest time in the first round. In the end this was good enough for 12th place, a share of the prize money, and most importantly, an opportunity to earn more of the ranking points needed to earn a qualifying spot to represent The Bahamas in Equestrian Show Jumping at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
In Olympic Equestrian sport there are limited slots allocated to Individual athletes, based on their position in the FEI Longines Rankings as determined by their performance in major show jumping competitions in the calendar year. With just a few weeks left in the year to amass more points, Millie is one of a dozen individual athletes in FEI Olympic Groups D and E (North, Central and South America) vying for one of these coveted slots. Nonetheless she remains determined, saying: “It’s my dream to represent The Bahamas at the Olympics. It’s a challenge but I’m up to it!”
