Author: andy

The Caribbean Equestrian Association (CEA) announced the results of its 2022 Mini Jumping Challenge, with Bahamian rider Katerina Coello winning the top overall individual score. Over 40 riders across the Caribbean competed in the 2022 CEA Mini Jumping Challenge (MJC). Each leg of the Challenge was held in a different country, allowing athletes to compete on their own horses over a pre-set jump course contested at three different heights: Class A (0.50 metres), Class B (0.60 metres) and Class C (0.70 metres.)

The Bahamas joined the CEA in February 2022 and held its first MJC event in October 2022, at Camperdown Equestrian Centre. The jumping rounds were judged on the concept of “Optimum time”, designed to give riders an understanding of the correct speed at which a show jumping course should be ridden under international rules. The order of finish in each class was dictated by how closely the rider’s time matched the “Optimum time” of the course.

Under these conditions The Bahamas’ Katerina Coello (riding TGIF of Mariposa Stables) was nearly perfect, finishing just 0.02 seconds off the Optimum time and edging out Barbados’ Kai Cook-Johnson by three-hundredths of a second, to be named the top scorer of the MJC.

Besides posting the top individual score overall, Coello, aged 14, was also named the individual winner of Height Class C. Bahamian teammates Storm D’Arville and Ella Saidi were also named as finalists in that height class, finishing 4th and 6th respectively. While dominating the top Class C, Team Bahamas fared less well in the lower height Classes A and B, with the result that overall in the team competition, The Bahamas placed third behind Bermuda and Barbados. For full results of the MJC 2022 see here

Sunday was a fun day for Anna Camille Vlasov and her Belgian Warmblood gelding Gulliver du Saint-Chȇne as they blazed to victory in the 1.40m Grand Prix competition on the final day of the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour in Oliva, Spain.

Vlasov and Gulliver were only one of two pairs to ride double clear rounds over French course designer Eddy Castillon’s challenging track. A crisp first round in 74.23 seconds put them atop the leaderboard after the first round. A fast, careful effort in the jump off kept them there, as Vlasov went clear in 39.40 seconds to hold off the only other double clear combination – Great Britain’s Joanne Whitaker, aboard Meriarta – beating them by just 0.98 seconds. Carlos Borho Gifon and Esprit de L’Esprit Z of Spain were third.

Vlasov will continue to compete in Europe over the next few months as she prepares for her next goal: to represent The Bahamas at the CAC Games in 2023.

What a weekend! Thank you to all who participated in the Caribbean Equestrian Association (CEA) Educational Tour and to all the competitors in the inaugural Bahamas leg of the CEA Mini Jumping Challenge. Congratulations especially to Erika Adderley, D’Yanndria Saunders-Curry, Kimberly Johnson, Dr. Amanda Pinder, Cathy Ramsingh-Pierre and Carrie Saidi on achieving certification as CEA Jumping Officials. A HUGE THANK YOU to our clinicians, Heidi Mello, President of the Caribbean Equestrian Association, and Colleen Hoffman, FEI Level 3 Jumping Judge, of Spruce Meadows, Canada.

Congratulations also to those fifteen riders who made history by riding in the inaugural Bahamas leg of the CEA Mini Jumping Challenge. Results were tallied for individuals in each class, and for The Bahamas as a team, and will then be ranked against riders from other CEA member islands. The MJC is run in each CEA member country over the course of the calendar year, after which overall results from the region are tallied and awards distributed.

CEA President Mello had strong words of encouragement for all involved, saying, “As President of the Caribbean Equestrian Association, I have seen many firsts for Equestrian Bahamas. This is their first year as members of the CEA…their first time competing in the CEA Mini Jumping Challenge…and [their] first officials to be regionally credentialed. Equestrian Bahamas has a great future in both international and national equestrian sport. I wish them every success to obtain their reachable goals.”

Big thank you to Camperdown Equestrian Centre for hosting the event, and to the Bahamas Olympic Committee, Blanco Bleach and Fox Hill Nursery for their support in making the event such a success!

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Our riders made a splash last weekend at the 2022 Marshall & Sterling Finals in Saugerties, New York. Congratulations to Isabella Coello, Hannah D’Aguilar and Ella Saidi for qualifying to ride in the Finals, against a tough field of 74. We are super proud to have TWO riders finish in the top 12 for the first time ever! Special congratulations go out to Hannah D’ Aguilar and Isabella Coello for amazing first round scores of 80+ and finishing in the ribbons! Hannah rode Last Call (owned by Penny Schell and Valley Crest Stables LLC) to 5th place overall, while Isabella Coello rode Greystone Stables’ Schokolade Sea to round out the top Finalists with a 12th place finish. Of course we also congratulate their trainers Kimberly Johnson of Camperdown Equestrian Centre, and Erika Adderley of Mariposa Stables! Special mention also to Ella Saidi who rode Megan Gore’s Normandy for an overall 30th place finish. Congratulations to all!

Kacy Lyn Smith and her horse Chicago M rode a double clear round at Loudon, Virginia, this weekend – and in doing so made history as the first Bahamian junior rider to qualify for the FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships, to be held at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival in Traverse City, Michigan, in August 2022.

The prestigious FEI Youth Jumping Championships provides an exciting opportunity for young equestrians to compete against their peers, mirroring the format of senior Championships such as the Olympic Games. Team and Individual competitions in each age category are held over multiple days.

16-year old Smith, who lives in Virginia and trains with Kama Godek of Capital Area Premium Sporthorses, will compete for The Bahamas as an individual in the Pre-Junior Championship category. This category is for riders 14-16 years old and features courses at fence heights of 1.30m.

Qualifying for the Championships wasn’t even on Smith’s radar a month ago. When discussing qualification scenarios with Federation officials back in mid-May, Smith was honest – it might not be an option. Qualification deadlines were fast approaching, but she had just started riding a new horse (Chicago M, a 17.1 hh, 12-year-old Holsteiner recently imported from Germany). As a team, they were just getting to know one another. “I’d only jumped him for the first time three days before,” said Smith. “I [was] still figuring him out.”

Yet Smith and her trainer Kama Godek believed it could be done. They began campaigning, to immediate success. After clear rounds at 1.15m, 1.20m and 1.25m at Swan Lake, the pair travelled to the prestigious Upperville Horse Show in Middleburg, VA. The weekend started inauspiciously when Smith suffered a fall: “He jumps extremely athletically and tends to jump me out of the tack,” she noted. Luckily neither horse nor rider were hurt, and the pair finished the weekend strong, going double clear and placing 9th in a competitive field in the $2,500 1.25m Classic. At that moment Smith and her trainer made the decision to move up to the 1.30m class at Loudon. It was the right decision. Smith and Chicago jumped double clear, finishing 5th overall, winning a share of the prize money…and securing the coveted Certificate of Capability for qualification to the FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships!

As the lone rider representing The Bahamas, Smith will ride in the Pre-Children’s Championship as an individual competitor. The prospect leaves her unfazed, declaring, “I will be proud to be the singular rider representing The Bahamas!”