Junior equestrians from Cayman returned home on Monday after competing at the Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids competition in Atlanta, Georgia, the first overseas event for all the riders.
Despite being in a different environment and riding borrowed horses, they performed above expectations, according to Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation coach Jessica McTaggart.
“The kids all did really well,” McTaggart told the Compass, noting that she borrowed two horses from her trainer in Georgia, and one each from the organiser of the competition and a friend in Florida, meaning four horses were shared among the team of six riders.
Before the competition began, the Cayman entrants participated in a schooling show to familiarise themselves with their new teammates before taking a theory exam.
Cayman’s Sierra Martin won High Score Catch Rider, while teammate Caleigh Corbin was second overall in her division.
Brooke Ebanks and Emily McDonald took fifth and sixth, respectively, in their Training Level Under-13 Division.
Ebanks, Corbin and McDonald then joined forces with Ava Babnick to place fourth overall in the team competition.
“I’m super proud of how they all handled the pressure of the weekend,” McTaggart said. “They are kids, and they do put a lot of pressure on themselves, probably much more so than any of the adults.
“They were some hard rides, some difficult rides, but really and truly they rose to the challenge and rode really well,” she said.
McTaggart added that it had been difficult to travel with a team in the past because they were unable to source horses but hopes that won’t be the case in the future.
“We have less opportunities to borrow horses to compete, it seems to be less common now, but this was a phenomenal experience and it’s definitely going to go on our calendar to go to every year.”
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