Author: andy

Team Bahamas made a strong showing at the Grand Caraïbe show jumping competition in Le François, Martinique, last weekend to finish in 4th place overall. Kelsey Pyfrom made her travel squad debut in the Espoir Category (0.85m) while Alana Pyfrom (ShowGoldAlways) placed 4th on Day 1 of competition in the Elite Category (1.10m). Also riding in the Elite category, Marlo Pinder riding Cazanova stole the show. The pair placed 7th on Day 1 and 1st on Day 2, posting a double clear and a winning jump-off time of 41.79 seconds to earn overall Champion honours! Silver went to Sebastien De Virginy of Martinique, while Jonathan Filardo of Barbados earned the Bronze.

The two-day competition featured 75 riders from 7 countries (The Bahamas, Barbados, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, and Suriname), competing on horses lent for the competition by riders from stables across the island of Martinique.

Pinder’s success marks The Bahamas’ first gold medal in the Grand Caraibe Tour. The next competition in the Tour will take place in May, on the island of Guadeloupe.

Junior show jumping star Katerina Coello made history for Bahamas equestrian sport
this weekend as the first equestrian athlete to compete in the FEI Jumping World
Challenge. The FEI Jumping World Challenge is a multi-stage event contested at three
height categories. It takes place over three competitions, each consisting of two jumping
rounds, and is designed to allow riders from developing nations to compete
internationally without having to leave their own country. Riders competing over identical
jumping courses and at the end of the year results from competitors all over the world
are tallied and ranked.

Riding the 10-year old Irish Sport Horse gelding Whiterock Duggie, Coello carried a
clean sheet through 3 competitions and 6 grueling rounds of jumping, navigating the
courses designed by FEI Course Designers Marina Azevedo of Brazil, Cristina
Larangeiro of Portugal, and Erica Sportiello of Brazil with ease. In the final competition
at Moonstone Stables last weekend, the pair rode the first round in 62.22 seconds and
then returned to complete the speed round in 58.79 seconds, shaving valuable fractions
off their previous time of 59.18 seconds achieved in Competition 2 back in October.

A team of high-ranking FEI officials were on hand to validate Coello’s performance,
including FEI Level 4 Judge David Distler (USA), FEI Level 3 Judge Colleen Hoffman
(CAN), FEI Level 3 Steward Heidi Mello (BER) and FEI Level 4 Veterinarian Dr.
Kimberly Snyder (USA). Before the competition Coello was required to present
Whiterock Duggie to the panel in a mandatory horse inspection, for which she was
awarded a sparkling 99% score for overall presentation.

As a result of her performance Coello is currently ranked in first place in the FEI Zone
10 Category C standings, and near the top worldwide. With just a few competitions
remaining on the international Challenge 2025 calendar, she stands poised for a
spectacular international finish!

Marlo Pinder, riding Malikah, finished 5th overall in the Elite Division at the Grand Caraibe Suriname 2025 competition. The pair placed 3rd in the Elite (1.00m-1.10m) Table A with Jump Off Class, going double clear in a time of 0/0/43.28. Marlo and Malikah also placed 15th in the speed round with 4 faults and a time of 57.73, to finish with an overall ranking of 5th out of the 24 starters.

Fellow Youth Squad members Kaitlyn Russell, Madison Miller and Maria Iachelli were on hand in strong support, riding in the Espoir Division.

Thank you to our hosts at Ponderosa Stables and all our friends in the Grand Caraibe community for another fantastic event!

Congratulations to 13-year-old Gabriela Souza-Cordovez, first athlete to represent The Bahamas in FEI Dressage! Gaby won individual bronze in the Children Division and team gold in the mixed teams at the CDI-W Mexico 2025 at Rancho St. Vincent, Mexico. The competition was part of the Borrowed Horses Project, an FEI education initiative allowing Children (12-14 years) and Juniors (14-18 years) to compete on borrowed horses. The CDI-W Mexico 2025 marked the first time the event has been held in the Americas as a part of a CDI-W (Dressage World Cup Qualifier) competition.

Gabriela rode Gitano, a 13-year old Mexican Sport Horse gelding owned by Mercedes Urquiza Pardo of Mexico, and was coached by Jessica McTaggart of Grand Cayman. The pair scored 67.143% in the CDICh Children Preliminary B – Borrowed Horse Test and 65.350% in the CDICh Children Team – Borrowed Horse Test. The combined scores earned Gabriela an individual bronze, behind Mercedes Urquiza Pardo/Alma of Mexico and Paloma Herrera Iglesias/Cool Time LS Elite of Costa Rica.

Gabriela was also a member of the gold medal-winning mixed team, along with Renata Herdoiza (Ecuador), Jaimie Fletcher (Trinidad and Tobago) and Bennet McWhorter (USA). Teams were mixed to include riders from different countries and from the Children and Junior categories. All tests were judged by a panel of three judges: Isobel Wessels of Great Britain, Frederico Pinteus of Portugal, and Marian E. Cunningham of Peru.

Congratulations Gaby and Gitano!

Congratulations and thank you, Coach Jessica!

Super thank you to Rancho St. Vincent, Equo.mx, Omar Zayrik and all the CDI-W Mexico 2025 Family! See you next year!