Team Bahamas made a triumphant statement in their debut at the 2024 FFE World Clubs Tournament, held from July 22-24 at the Parc Équestre Fédéral in Lamotte-Beuvron, France. This year’s competition marked the Tournament’s 20th anniversary and featured teams from 9 nations: Belgium, Chile, China, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Malta, The Bahamas and Türkiye.
Congratulations to our talented riders -Sienna Tinker, Emma Johnston, Ella Saidi and Katerina Coello –who came out strong and never wavered through three days of competition. The team rode super horses leased from the French trainer Sophie Ducoligny and her stable Haras de la Corbiniere: Sienna on Crabbswood Sebastian, Emma on Rapido du Bosquet, Ella on Un de Plus de Palamie and Katerina on Gadget du Peley. They were supported by Chef d’Equipe Heidi Mello and Coach Raishun Burch.
With just one time fault and one rail down over three days of competition Team China proved hard to beat and were the clear winners finishing with only 5 faults across the whole team. Competition for the remaining podium spots was stiff, with Czech Republic, The Bahamas and Italy all finishing on 12 faults. In the end, it came down to the tiebreaker with the cumulative speeds of the final round deciding the final placings, with just 96/100 of a second making the difference: the Czech Republic’s overall time of 146.68 seconds proved good enough for 2nd place, just edging out The Bahamas who finished on 147.64 for the bronze medal.
Equestrian Bahamas would like to thank the private donors, corporate sponsors and other supporters who made our success at the World Clubs Tournament possible, including Capital Union Bank; Equity Bank Bahamas Ltd.; Lighthouse Security Services; VLK Directors; the Formigé family; ea-St Equestrian apparel; and the Bahamas Olympic Committee.
Participation in the World Clubs Tournament was the last of several regional and international competitions in which The Bahamas participated this competition year. We look forward to participating in more this year – stay tuned to learn about eligibility, opportunities for training, tryouts, selection criteria and more as we continue our mission to bring 242 Equestrian to the world!
