Sports
Rider gets top score in regional dressage contest
(CIEF): In the first week of March Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation riders had the opportunity to ride in a National Dressage Show before an overseas foreign judge appointed by the Federation Equestre Internationale, the horse world’s global governing body. Cayman is defending its title in the regional contest and Meegan Slattery (left) clocked an outstanding score of 76.875% on her horse Max which should go some way to help the local riders retain the trophy. The Judge, Anders Sucksdorff of Finland, was in Cayman to judge the prestigious World Dressage Challenge and agreed in addition, to judge local riders in various tests.
Riders enter a test appropriate to their stage of riding and the breadth of tests on offer is enormous.
The younger children beginning on their ‘dressage journey’ entered the USDF ‘B’ and ‘C’ tests which develop a rider’s ability to guide their horse in the walk, trot and canter gaits. In the ‘B’ test, Meegan Slattery continued her winning streak with an amazing score of 76.875% on Max.
This was an unusually high score for this Test. The CIEF Board of Directors subsequently awarded Slattery a special High Point Award to mark her success in this test. Second was Eva Muspratt with 70.625%, making her debut on her recently imported pony, Oscar. Third was Leah Alberga on Twinkle with 64% and fourth was Jenna Boucher on Katrina with 60%.
Slattery also took first place in the ‘C’ test on Max with 64.75% with Muspratt and Oscar in second with 63%.
Regina Nowack and Leonora took first in the USEF First Level Test 3 with 64.677%. In the USEF Training Level Test 3 open class, Tracey Surrey and SonRise David took first with 68% and Ashley van den Bol and EWSZ Carmella took second with 63.2%.
Experienced dressage rider, Thea Millward, rode Kartouche in the Medium Test and scored 63.438%, taking first place. Millward is too young to ride this class in the FEI’s World Dressage Challenge as it is normally a test reserved for adults due to its difficulty.
Millward’s skills are certainly up for the task though, and there will be no stopping her next year when she turns 15 and will be able to enter the class as an ‘adult’.
It is hoped the rules of the FEI WDC will be changed to allow talented young riders, like Millward, to enter the WDC at these advanced levels. It is a testament to the equestrian talent developing on island that junior riders like Millward are now beyond the skill level anticipated even at international level.
The next dressage competition, the Caribbean Equestrian Association’s Dressage Competition, takes place on 1st June. Riders in Cayman are judged against their Caribbean counterparts in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Bermuda. As this was a competition Cayman won last year, CIEF riders will be fiercely defending their title this year in the hope of bringing home the silverware once more.
1 down 5 to go in Haines’ 6 marathon challenge
(CNS): Local veteran marathon runner Derek Haines is one stride closer to his target of finishing six marathons this year to raise $1 million to build an inpatient care unit for the local hospice. The 65-year-old completed the Paris Marathon on Sunday in an impressive four hours and three minutes and now has less than a week to nurse his blisters and sore knees before he hits the streets of London next Sunday for the UK capital’s annual race. Haines lined up with more than 42,000 to run through the French capital, which was won by 10,000m Olympic record-holder Kenenisa Bekele (31), who broke the course record and clocked the sixth-fastest marathon debut of all time in 2:05.04.
Haines will be very happy that the first 26 miles of his massive 156-mile target is now under his belt, which will hopefully boost the pledges towards the $1 million target.
After the London marathon next week Haines is hoping to be fit and ready for the Pamplona in Spain on 28 June, where he will be running with his daughter, Lizzy.
Then Haines will be headed for the United States for the San Francisco marathon just a month later.
He is still awaiting confirmation for his participation in the New York marathon but if he gets accepted he will run that race on 2 November. Haines sixth long distance run will be on home turf in the Cayman marathon on 7 December.
Donations can be made by accessing the dedicated website at six4hospice.com.
America defeats England for 2nd time in 250yrs
(CTA): It was smiles all round at the end of a fiercely contested Cup of Nations organised by the Cayman Touch Association. The Cayman Islands is a real melting pot of nationalities and teams (unofficially) representing the Cayman Islands. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Americas, England, and Ireland played in two pools over two nights to determine which nation would have the bragging rights in this inaugural “international” competition. With morecut and thrust than a UN debate on Weapons of Mass Destruction, these warring nations battled long and hard into the Friday Night lights at Camana Bay Sports Field.
Pool A contained Cayman Local'ish, the Americas (kindly sponsored by Atlas Insurance Management), South Africa and Ireland. Team Americas adopted an open immigration policy and were far more welcoming to foreign nationals than any Homeland Security Officer in Miami International Airport ever has been. Their team huddle was like a scene from Ellis Island circa 1905. With Canadians, Quebecois, an American and a herd of Sefrikans representing, the team talks had to be tri-lingual just to get over the salient points of “run forwards, pass backwards”. Not since Joss Ackland claimed “deeplermatik eemunitee” in Lethal Weapon 2 have the Nations of America and South Africa been so closely entwined.
This team looked strong on paper and proved even stronger on grass. They were certainly speaking the same language when it came to easy wins over Ireland and Cayman Local’ish but the highlight of this pool was their game against South Africa. Rivalries were fierce given the nature of the personnel but Team America won out 6-3 and South Africa were consigned to the Plate Tournament.
Cayman Local’ish, boasting a fine crop of outstanding local young men and women rugby players, played a fast and loose form of touch that overpowered both South Africa and Ireland, beating both by the odd try. They came a cropper against the highly experienced Americas team though and had to settle for second place in the Pool which guaranteed a semi-final place against the winners of Pool B.
In Pool B England took on and took over its colonies with vital wins against New Zealand, Australia and Cayman Iguanas. Dressed like a cross between a Banksy graffiti art installation and an ambulance, this team wore the cross of St. George with pride. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would have been proud of their efforts especially as they had by far and away the oldest squad on show. Epitomized by dogged defence and stiff upper lips, the English found a real Dunkirk spirit to fend off the marauding hordes of New Zealand and Australia defeating both by narrow margins before squashing the hopes of the Cayman Iguanas like roadkill. The Cayman Iguanas, valiantly lead by Captain Guy Major, were largely new to the sport but made great strides over the course of the three games and will be better for the experience.
In the battle for the second place in Pool B Australia beat Australia Brac a.k.a. New Zealand 3-2. With a rivalry that is as old as whenever Captain Cook discovered them both, we were ensured a feisty affair.
In the semi-finals England took on Cayman Local’ish and put on their best performance of the tournament. Showing great organization and discipline mixed with the speed and fitness of MVP Neal Ainscow, they defeated the Locals 7-1 – a real case of “age before beauty” in this game!
The second semi saw Team America wallop Australia 6-1. The score line, if not the result, was a shock as pre-tournament predictions saw both of these teams parading for the Final. Led by Neal Montgomery and Riley Mullen, this “Little and Littler” of touch rugby proved too much for the Aussies who seemed to have gone off quicker than a raw prawn.
In the Plate Final, South Africa took on New Zealand in a re-run of the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final. South Africa narrowly won that one in the last minutes amidst Kiwi whining about the squad be deliberately poisoned by some dodgy food and a mysterious woman called Suzie. Nineteen years on and this match was also extremely tight with history repeated itself as South Africa sealed the win in the dying minutes, breaking New Zealand hearts once more.
Although the braai (barbecue) was fully operational during the course of the tournament there has been no suggestion “Suzie” was serving! And so South Africa, who had such high hopes at the start of the tournament walked away with just the Plate, presumably to be used to hold the huge boerewors sausage shared by the team in celebration.
On to the Grand Final. Team America versus England. Both teams had gone through the competition undefeated and their conflicting styles would make for an excellent final. It was a billed as a rematch of that 1776 classic encounter between the two countries which pitted The Patriots against The Red Coats. America won that day and although revenge was very much on the agenda for England it proved a victory too far as Team America sealed the win by the slenderest of margins.
Any neutral observer would have looked at the two player rosters and assumed an easy victory for America but England showed real backbone and dominated possession for large periods. America had all the speed and showed great covering defence which caused England to run down some blind alleys rather than risk the wide open spaces.
In attack, America used typical surge and purge tactics to try and break the resolute English line even berating the referee at times. In the end it was a length-of-pitch interception try from Chris Brussow that proved the difference and gave his side the 3-2 victory. And so Team America made it two wins out of two in 250 years over the English. No tea was thrown into Boston harbourbut several champagne corks were popped in celebration. Neal Ainscow of England won the tournament MVP award and he was outstanding. No doubt the rest of the English will also get MBEs for their noble efforts in defeat for Queen and Country.
Post tournament quotes from the Captains:
Jyoti Choi (Australia): “Ah look mate, fair dinkum! Stone the crows the comp was as tough as a crocs hide and the defeat to the Poms was a kick in the canastas but we all ended up having a bonza time, especially when we beat the bru’s from NZ.”
Alex Pineau: (Cayman Local’ish): "Next year bobo! Nobody's safe! Cayman is going to take it!"
Justin Colgan (Ireland): “They say if you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough! However all the luck of the Irish must have been used up in the 6 Nations … to be sure to be sure”!
Dave Acutt (South Africa): We played great rugby and introduced the Irish to some Mzansi boerewors and tjops – it was a lekker jol. Most importantly, we relived the 1995 World Cup by beating New Zealand in the (Plate) Final.”
Adam Huckle (England): “To paraphrase the great Cecil Rhodes, “Despite our narrow loss, remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life.”
Brad Stephenson (New Zealand): “Everyone seemed to think the tourney was pretty choice!”
Riley Mullen (Americas): [quoting General Patton] “Americans love to fight. All Americans love the sting of battle.”
The Canadians just said “Eh!” and then apologized,
Lizzy Ard, spokesperson for the Cayman Iguanas said: “The Cayman Iguanas pulled together a young and pacey team that showed a lot of talent but unfortunately a lack of experience led to a reptile dysfunction on the night. We really enjoyed it and progressed as the games went on so next time we won’t be so green and should blue away the opposition."
Here are the team MVP’s as nominated by their own Captains. Well done one and all!
CAYMAN LOCAL’ISH – Kia McFee
SOUTH AFRICA – Mike Smith
ENGLAND – Neal Ainscow;
AUSTRALIA – Mike McGrath
IRELAND – Dave Brosnan
AMERICAS – Neil Montgomery
NEW ZEALAND – Lewis Chong
CAYMAN IGUANAS – Theo Edman
OVERALL TOURNAMENT MVP – Neal Ainscow (England)
Local rider clocks up qualifying scores for CAC
(CNS): Cayman’s elite dressage rider, Jessica McTaggart-Giuzio, was aiming to achieve a score of 62% or more in the Prix St Georges Test when she entered the Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation’s CDN/National Dressage Show. The goal was to take one step closer to qualify for the Central American and Caribbean Games. Riding, Ray of Light she achieved a score of 65.987% exceeding her goal and the qualifying score required. McTaggart-Giuzio now has the two scores needed to apply for a certificate of capability, which is proof to the CAC Games organizers that she is good enough to compete and ride for Cayman at the games.
McTaggart-Giuzio has competed competently at games before and at the even bigger Pan-Am Games, both times on her current horse, Ray of Light. Once this certificate is submitted, she must wait to see if she is in the top six qualifiers in the region. If she is, McTaggart-Giuzio will head for Velacruz, Mexico in November to represent the Cayman Islands in the Dressage Competition.
“I am always incredibly proud to represent the Cayman Islands in competitions overseas,” said McTaggart-Giuzio. “I recognize that this is a great responsibility and a wonderful privilege. Cayman Dressage is really making a mark in the Caribbean and it is a delight to be an ambassador overseas, not only for the sport of dressage, but also for the Cayman Islands generally.”
“I’ve worked really hard to achieve my two qualifying scores but the hard work doesn’t end here. I’ll be working constantly now until the Games arrive so that I can build on what I have achieved so far and aim even higher than the results I achieved in my first CAC Games four years ago.”
At the CAC Games in Puerto Rico in 2010, McTaggart-Giuzio finished a respectable 14th out of 34. This time around, McTaggart-Giuzio’s preparation for the CAC Games has been boosted by her long-time coach, Cindy Thaxton, of High Point Farm, Atlanta, visiting the Cayman Islands numerous times to assist with coaching and training.
Thaxton, a U.S.D.F. Certified Dressage Instructor and L Graduate judge, is owner-operator at High Point Farm, Watkinsville, Georgia. She has been coaching McTaggart-Giuzio for many years and has extended this in the past few years to coaching other members of the Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation.
Inter-Secondary Track & Field results in
(CNS): This year’s Inter-Secondary Track & Field Championship took place last week between Tuesday 25th and Thursday 27th March. Students from all public and private high schools in the Cayman Islands take part in the annual event, which is also used as a qualifier for regionaland international competitions. Full results from this year’s meet are attached – click on the links below. The Cayman Islands Athletic Association has announced that its next event will be the CUC Age Group Championships on Friday, April 4 at 6pm and Saturday, April 5 at 4pm. This event will also be used as a qualifier.
Lighthouse school shines light on autism
(CNS): On Saturday, 29 March, the Lighthouse School will host a 2-mile Fun Run/Walk at North Sound Golf Club to raise local awareness about Autism. The event is the first in a series hosted by the school for students with special education needs to mark April being Autism Awareness Month. On 2 April there will be a public forum/information session at Mary Miller Hall, and the event series will conclude with a family fun day at Dolphin Discovery in West Bay on 26 April. The school is encouraging everyone to help ‘shine a light on autism’ and is promoting the series of events with the headline, ‘Light it up blue’. In keeping with the theme, a prize will be given away during the fun run/walk for the ‘bluest’ person. In addition, the first 100 registrants will receive t-shirts.
Webb says restoring integrity is everyone’s business
(CNS): Taking part in the UCCI anti-corruption conference, local football boss and CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb said it was time to forge a common agenda when it comes to integrity and transparency. Appointed as the VP of the world footballing body in the wake of its significant corruption scandals, Webb has been at the forefront of cleaning up the game and promoting diversity. Speaking about CONCACAF’s progress, he said it was built on new foundations and strong pillars of transparency, ethics and development. “Improving governance standards should be a priority for any organization,” said Webb.
“Without trust at every level, it is impossible to create a strong region like the one we are envisioning. The Caribbean region has diverse cultural, social and economic elements that, while positive in many respects, provide inherent difficulties. The real challenge of uniting nations that are in such different places is defining an integral regional vision of the future,” he said at the local conference.
Gratified by the warm welcome and support he said he had received throughout his travels, Webb expressed his commitment to enrich the region’s diversity, as well as communicate core values and distinctive identities through sport.
“It is our task to make sure that we all work to restore the value of integrity, to ensure that we work for the love of society,” he noted. “This is our time to forge a common agenda, to build on solid foundations, and guarantee professional excellence”, he added.
Webb joined hundreds of guests, speakers, panellist and delegates at the the two-day conference, "Towards a Corruption-Free Caribbean: Ethics, Values, Trust and Morality," which tackled various aspects of values and ethics, as they relate not only to the function of Caribbean governments and political parties, but also to the role of every institution – whether educational, religious, or social — across the region.
Sailors to celebrate 50th anniversay of island regatta
(CISC): The annual Round the Island Sailboat race takes place on Good Friday, 18 April. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Easter Regatta and we are hoping that we get every sailboat in Cayman out on the water to celebrate. The first regatta was held on Easter Monday, 20 March 1964, off the Beach Club Colony, organised and run by the CaymanIslands Hotel Association. But this year Harbour House is going over the top to attract as many boats as possible to compete in the milestone Regatta. All boats who take part in the Round the Island Race will be eligible for a haul out and power wash, prior to the race, at half the normal cost.
In the first Regatta the prize money was £12 for first place, £10 for second and £5 for third and Catboats raced with Sunfish and an assortment of small boats. By 1980, the Round the Island Race for cruisers had become the main focus of the Easter Regatta.
There were 5 boats in the race with John Staffords “Aries” beating out “Canac”, “Sea Gypsy”, “Caronade” and “Honey”. The numbers competing grew each year until Hurricane Ivan saw the demise of many boats in the fleet. Since then we have seen a slow but steady increase in the number of Cruisers out on the waters of North Sound.
The annual race is run by the Cayman Islands Sailing Club in partnership with Harbour House Marina. The start of the race is in North Sound and the course takes boats out of the main channel and then eastaways aroundthe island ending on Seven Mile Beach. The following day there is a shorter race “Back to the Sound” to complete the circumnavigation. There is also a short race course for smaller boats which goes westaways out of the main channel to SMB. PHRF handicapping is applied to allow all different boats to compete against each other.
Prizes include special 50th Anniversary trophies for the first three boats and also Gill jackets, shirts and gloves for the podium crews. There is also a consolation prize for the last place boat of a free bottom job. All competitors will get an anniversary T Shirts and there will be a post-race party on Seven Mile Beach.
If you would like to enter for the race, contact Rick Caley at admin@sailing.ky
Late goal dashes Bodden Town hopes
(CIFA): An improved defensive effort by Bodden Town FC was undermined by a late goal which gave Unite Saint Rosienne a 1-0 victory on match day two of the Caribbean Football Union championship on Sunday. At the Estadio Juan Ramon Louriel, Ronaldo Barbosa scored a late goal (82nd) and lifted Unite Saint Rosienne past the Cayman Islands Champions. Bodden Town Head Coach Elbert Mclean kept a positive outlook despite the 0-2 record. “Our boys have nothing to be ashamed of, we have seen a great improvement,” Mclean told caymanfootball.com.
“They redeemed themselves after the first game (lost 5-0 to Bayamon) and gave a much better performance,” he added.
Mclean was buoyed by his team’s commitment after conceding the late goal. He said, “The way our boys lifted after the goalwas amazing.”
Bodden Town returns to the pitch on Tuesday against Curacao Centro Dominguito. Like Bodden Town Centro Dominguito will be in search of their first victory after holding Bayamon to a goalless draw on Sunday.
Schools battle it out in annual athletics competition
(CNS): More than 400 students from all twelve public and private high-schools across the Cayman Islands will be battling it out this week at the 2014 Inter-secondary Track and Field Meet which starts Tuesday. The annual inter-secondary sports meet has become a highlight of the Islands athletic calendar and this year John Gray High School enters as the current champions. Young athletes also use the meet as a qualifier for regional and international competition coming up later this year as well as local bragging rights. Expected standouts include Taj Lewis in the 400m and 800m, Keira McLaughlin in the 800m and 1500m, and Jacob Scott in the high jump.
Tuesday’s programme will focus on track semi-final races, as well as finals in the 800m, 3000m and 110m hurdles. The day will run from 8.30am-4.00pm Field events are set for Wednesday 8.30am – 3.00pm. The remaining track finals will take place on Thursday.
Members of the public will be able to watch the competition unfold at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.