Cayman teen rider takes wins 1st place in Barbados

(CIEF): Madeleine Aquârt took first place in her age group in the first leg of the 2014 Caribbean Equestrian Association’s Junior Show Jumping competition held in Barbados on 15th and 16th February. Cayman placed 3rd overall and has come away with two points to carry forward to the next leg of the competition.  Isabelle Smith represented Cayman in the 16 and Under age group. The event, in which riders from Cayman, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago compete, has been running for 17 years.  As competitors from the four countries ride horses borrowed from the host country Aquârt and Smith competed on horses they have never ridden before.

In each round of the team event the jump course is changed and becomes progressively more difficult.  This was the first time either Aquârt or Smith had represented Cayman in the competition and Aquârt came away with only four faults, having knocked one fence in the first round of the competition.  Smith had two eliminations and nine faults.

Big C Stables hosted the two-day Barbados event at which the 14 and Under riders jumped a maximum course height of .70m and the 16 and Under riders jumped a maximum height of .85m.  Jessica McTaggart coaches Aquârt and Smith at the Equestrian Centre in Grand Cayman and traveled with the team to Barbados.

After two days of competition Barbados had 12 faults, Jamaica 29 and Cayman 63. Trinidad had four faults but was represented in only one of the age groups.  Country standings are as follows;

Barbados   1st place   5 points
Jamaica   2nd place  3 points
Cayman   3rd place   2 points
Trinidad  4th place   1 point 

Points are carried over for each leg of the competition, which consists of four legs, one hosted in each participating country during the course of the year.  The country with the most points earned in 2014 will be the overall winner. The next leg of the competition will be held in Cayman on 10th and 11th May, with trials to decide the Cayman team being held on 22nd March.