Cayman riders excel in ‘online’ equestrian tourney
Elizabeth Jarvis riding Princess
(CNS Local Life): Two local riding instructors proved they could compete internationally after taking part in an “online” dressage competition organised in the UK and appraised by a top British judge. Elizabeth Jarvis took two first-place spots and Tracey Surrey finished second in her division and third overall in the open category at the competition which included more than 40 riders from all over the world.
Online competitions are now extremely popular in the UK, explained Surrey, who is also the owner of Cayman Riding School (CRS). Monthly events range from walk and trot to FEI Grand Prix tests. The concept is the brainchild of top UK dressage judge and trainer Nereide Goodman so anyone from anywhere in the world can ride a test and have it judged by a leading international British dressage judge, Surrey added in a CRS press release.
The overall cost and format to participate in these online competitions offers the opportunity to a far wider group of riders, who can video their test from the viewpoint of the judge and upload it to a website. The results are published at the end of every month along with other competitors from around the world.
In the January competition, Jarvis and Surrey were up against riders from Great Britain, France, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, China, United Arab Emirates and Norway.
“Whilst competing is definitely not our top priority, the riding school does offer several competitions each month for riders of all levels,” explained Surrey. “We try to make it as fun as possible but at the same time for those riders who want to take their riding more seriously, we hold competitions that are considerably more technical and challenging.”
With this in mind, Surrey said she and her senior riding instructor Jarvis both competed in in the online event recently launched in the UK by British Dressage.
Competing against 42 other riders, Jarvis scored a “very respectable” 74.57% to win her first class riding Princess, said Surrey. In her next class, Jarvis, riding both Princess and Lilly, pulled off an “extremely high score” of 75.57%, putting her in joint first place against 35 other riders from around the globe. To determine the top spot between her own rides the judge looked at the collective points and, with just a 0.5% advantage, Jarvis and Princess pulled off their second win of the competition.
Tracey Surrey riding Dusty
Surrey competed on her own horse, Dusty, against more than 40 other riders in a considerably harder test and scored a “very respectable” 69.79%, placing her second in her division and third overall in the open division, she said.
“We found the standard and technical requirements to be considerably higher than previous competitions, but it is extremely encouraging to achieve such great results against such a high number of entries,” said Surrey.
She added that she and Jarvis, along with other riders now in training, are preparing for this month’s competition and will be putting forward two teams, placing them “in a better position for the overall international league”.
Category: Equestrian, Sports
