Category: News

Millie Vlasov has made history for Bahamas equestrian sport, representing The Bahamas in
Show Jumping at the Central American and Caribbean Games, held in the Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic sub-venue, riding her superb mount Gulliver Du Saint-Chene.

As an Individual entry, Millie and Gulliver were required to compete not only in Sunday’s
Individual qualifying round but also in the Team competition the next day. The pair
completed three grueling rounds over four days, finishing strongly on a score of 34.32 which
was good enough to qualify for the Individual final.

The Individual final was an incredible test for the athletes. After a shaky start and a pole
down on the first fence, Millie and Gulliver got stronger and stronger as they rode through
the course, finishing on 12 faults. Sitting in 16 th place – good enough to be near the top 10,
but technically out of medal contention – Millie chose to retire from the competition rather
than jump the second round of the Final.

“I made a horseman’s decision,” said Millie. “My horse gave his heart for this event. We are
both still very inexperienced; we learned so much in this, our first Championship Games, and
I felt it was unfair to ask him for more when he had already given so much.”
Millie was not the only athlete to make this decision: she was one of 5 riders in the top 20
who chose to retire from the competition rather than work their horses further. In the end,
she and Gulliver placed 20 th overall, tied with Colombia’s Jorge Andres Barrera and
Explosive TV.

“It was the hardest test I have ever faced in my career,” said Millie. “I feel so honoured to
have such an incredible horse like Gulliver. I am so fortunate to be supported by an amazing
team, who guided me every step of the way on this incredible journey.”

And what a team it was! Millie was accompanied to the Games by her trainer, Gilles Bertran
de Balanda, a former World Champion and member of the French Olympic Show Jumping
Team; Chef d’Equipe Heidi Mello of Bermuda who has over 25 years of experience in
equestrian sport at the CAC, Pan-Am and Olympic Games, and professional show groom
Margaux Rampnoux of France, who has over 15 years’ experience preparing top horses for
international competition.

“This is only the beginning,” said Millie. “I am so thrilled with our performance. Now we
continue to train and set our sights on representing The Bahamas in the Pan-American
Games in 2026!”

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Congratulations to all 2022-2023 End of Year Award Winners, especially…
Junior Sportsmanship Winner – Ella Saidi
Lady Marie Dupuch Perpetual Trophy Winner – Hannah D’Aguilar
High Point Rider – Anouk Formige
Adderley High Point Jumper Trophy – Lucky Star owned by Erika Adderley

Thanks to all for a great year!

Congratulations to all riders who participated in the Bahamas Interscholastic Equestrian League Spring Term Show, especially Trainer Kim Johnson and the members of the winning CEC Blue Marlins Team! The horse show year is over! It’s time to:

-THANK your parents
-THANK your trainer
-CLEAN your tack
-HUG your horse!!!!

See you all at the End of Year Awards at Balmoral House on May 27th!!!

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Bahamian rider Kacy Lyn Smith had a stellar showing at the Lexington Spring Premiere last weekend, riding her two horses Chicago M. and Costbar 2 to multiple high placings and being named as the Overall Leading Junior Jumper of the competition.

The Lexington Spring Premiere heralds the opening of the Virginia Horse Center’s annual Festival of Champions in Lexington, VA, and the beginning of the equestrian show season in the mid-Atlantic area.

Riding Chicago M., Kacy Lyn won the Medium/High Junior Amateur Jumper class on the first day of competition, and after multiple high placings over the remainder of the weekend the pair finished as Reserve Champions in the 1.30m Medium/High Junior Jumper Division. Kacy Lyn also had successful rounds with her young horse Costbar 2 in the 1.20m Low Juniors Division, including riding a double clear round for 4th place one class and placing 6th in the Speed Class. Overall, her performances with both horses earned her the title of Leading Junior Jumper at the competition.

Last year Kacy Lyn and Chicago M. made history as the first duo to represent The Bahamas at the FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships in Traverse City, Michigan. This year the pair have qualified to represent The Bahamas in Individual Jumping once again, this time at a higher level, moving up from the Pre-Juniors to the Junior Division.

A trio of Bahamian equestrians showed off their showjumping skills at the Ocala Spring Classic 3
competition, held at the Florida Horse Park. Ella Saidi, Katerina Coello and Amber Lleida made their
presence felt from the first day of the competition, jumping clear rounds in fast times to win blue
ribbons in their respective divisions.

Success continued over the course of the weekend, with multiple placings. Highlights included Saidi’s
4 th place finish in the 0.85m Jumper Classic (aboard Mister Right C, owned by JF Gagne) and
Coello’s sweep of the 0.95m division and her subsequent move up to the 1.0m Child/Adult Jumpers,
where she and Manhattan (owned by Hazelbrook Farm) placed 5 th and 7 th . Meanwhile, Lleida and DSP
Collind (owned by Peacock Ridge LLC) won multiple placings

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Riders who finished in the top 8 in their division in the 2022 Princeton Equestrian League Competitions were presented with their ribbons, certificates and prizes yesterday at the close of the BIEL show. The Princeton Equestrian League is contested by hundreds of riders over dozens of shows all over North America. Equestrian Bahamas members who are also PEL members are eligible to win awards in their respective divisions. Congratulations to:

Leapfrog Jumpers
Sienna Jones (not shown) – Champion 
Connor Watkins  and Arielle Arthur – Tied Reserve Champion 
Anouk Formige – 3rd place 
Hannah Ritchie – 4th place 

Pre-Child/Adult Jumpers
Hannah D’Aguilar/Ella Saidi – Tied 6th place

Mini Stirrup Equitation
Marlo Pinder – 8th place

Modified Rider (2’3″)
Alexis Osazuwa – Reserve Champion
Connor Watkins – 4th place

Just 6 points separated the top 3 teams in Sunday’s BIEL show, held at Camperdown Equestrian Centre! The final results were:
1st place – Mariposa Gold Drops – 45 points
2nd place – Mariposa Monarchs – 40 points
3rd place – CEC Blue Marlins – 39 points
4th place – CEC Sand Dollars – 25 points
Congratulations to all who participated and thank you to all our fabulous volunteers who helped to make the show a success! 

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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