Author: andy

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!

17-year-old Katerina Coello rode into the history books – and straight to the top of the standings – as she competed for The Bahamas in Category C of the 2025 FEI Jumping World Challenge, the first FEI-recognized event to be held in The Bahamas. Competitions 1 and 2 of the three-part Challenge were held this weekend at Moonstone Stables. Each competition consisted of two grueling rounds with 10-13 obstacles, at fence heights ranging from 1.0-1.10 m. The courses were designed by FEI Course Designers Marina Azevedo of Brazil, Cristina Larangeiro of Portugal, and Erica Sportiello of Brazil.

Katerina piloted Nadim Nsouli’s Whiterock Duggie in a near-perfect performance, riding four clear rounds with no jumping faults and no time faults, and clocking 57.40 seconds and 59.18 seconds in the speed rounds of each competition, well under the 69 seconds time allowed. As a result, the pair not only made history for The Bahamas but also took the lead in the Category C Zone 10 standing of the 2025 FEI World Challenge, displacing Abby Bardgett of Bermuda who previously held the top score.

Led by Heidi Mello (BER), President of the Ground Jury, the team of FEI officials congratulated Katerina for her achievement and praised Equestrian Bahamas Federation for the accomplishment of staging the FEI Jumping World Challenge.
The aim of the FEI World Challenge series is to offer athletes who, under normal circumstances, cannot take part in international competitions due to various factors such as travel costs and distances. The Challenge series gives local riders the opportunity to compete internationally without having to leave their own country. Individual and team rankings for the FEI World Challenges are posted at the end of the calendar year. Competition 3 will take place on 6 December 2025.

For the second consecutive year Team Bahamas made it to the podium, winning bronze at the World Clubs Tournament, held at the Generali Open de France in Lamotte-Beuvron!

Congratulations to team members Connor Watkins (Santiago DW), Alana Pyfrom (Rapido du Bosquet), Sienna Jones (Gadget de Peley) and Marlo Pinder (Crabbswood Sebastian), who, riding in that order, faced off against teams from Cambodia, Chile, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Taiwan, Türkiye and Venezuela for two days of exciting competition.

After Day 1 Team Bahamas sat in 6th place but refused to give up. In Day 2 of competition the pressure was on, but our riders stayed cool, producing one clear round after another to climb steadily in the standings and onto the podium! When the results were tallied Venezuela won gold, Italy won silver, and Team Bahamas had won bronze!

Thank you Chef d’Equipe Heidi Mello and Coach Raishun Burch for your leadership…our friend Sophie du Coligny and her team at Haras de la Corbiniere for the use of such beautiful horses…and of course the French Equestrian Federation for their wonderful hospitality during the event.

Go Team Bahamas!