From Trinidad Express

LANSER FLIES THE FLAG: Trinidad and Tobago’s Mariel Lanser, aboard “Miramis”, in action during the Caribbean Equestrian Association’s Junior Jumping Competition, held at Saddle Valley Stables in Santa Cruz on September 21 and 22.

Trinidad and Tobago won the local leg of the Caribbean Equestrian Association’s (CEA) Junior Jumping Competition, held at Saddle Valley Stables in Santa Cruz on September 21 and 22.

T&T’s Under-16 rider Mariel Lanser finished the two-day competition with five faults while Under-14 rider Hadley Rahael finished with four faults as the hosts finished with nine faults.

Jamaica were runners up to T&T with 20 faults while Barbados were third with 31 and the Cayman Islands fourth with 33.

For the event, each rider rode four horses in their age-group with minutes of “warm up” before each of the four rounds.

The team with the least number of faults were crowned champions and were awarded five points to their year-end total.

Barbados and Cayman Islands have already hosted their legs for the year and Jamaica will host the final leg in early December.

In round one of the T&T leg, all the riders in the Under-16 category had perfect scores, finishing with zero faults.

Rahael also had a clear round in round one of the Under-14 category while Phoebe Serpell of the Cayman Islands and Sofia Asher of Jamaica accumulated four faults each.

Lanser continued her good form, completing another clear round, with Jamaica’s Claire Schwapp also getting a perfect round.

Thea Millward of the Cayman Islands got four faults while Barbadian rider Rosa McKenzie was eliminated as she got 25 faults after being unseated from her horse.

The competition heated up in the final two rounds on day two, but the T&T riders held their nerve to finish in front.

Before the competition, the T&T Equestrian Association (TTEA) hosted a Dressage Clinic with international rider Roberta Foster lending her expertise to the T&T riders.

Foster spent a week in T&T, shuttling between four of the leading stables—Goodwin Heights, Stollmeyer Stables, Valmont Stables and Jericho Stables—imparting her wealth of experience to 15 of the country’s promising dressage riders.

The TTEA hosted the clinic with Foster in a calculated attempt to raise the scores of T&T riders at international events.

The next major event for the T&T riders is the FEI World Dressage Challenge to be held in early 2014, and Foster will return for another clinic in T&T in early December to further prepare local riders for the international event.

Speaking about the local riders, Foster said: “I would have to say that I am extremely impressed with the level of riders and horses (in T&T). I am excited to come back before the end of the year and see if everyone has done their home-work.

“All of the riders who had clinics with me were so keen to learn that it makes my training so much more exciting. I loved working with the riders and the horses in Trinidad.”

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