Howard, DeCosta to compete in Guatemala

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3: Claire Howard and Melinda DeCosta, will be travelling to compete in the FEI World Jumping Challenge Final, which takes place at Club Ecuestre El Cortijo, Guatemala City (GUA) next week (8-12 December), which has attracted a field of 22 riders from 15 countries. 

Due to their results from 2009 FEI World Jumping Challenge in Bermuda, Claire and Melinda finished first and second in our Zone and as a result earned a spot to at the final competition.

They will be competing against riders from Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bermuda and Guatemala will compete in the Final on borrowed horses. Competitions will be held outdoors over 1.20 metre courses.

The format for the Final consists of a warm-up competition followed by two qualifiers. The top 50 per cent from the two qualifiers go through to the semi-final to decide the four riders for the final. The top quartet will then take part in a change-horse final, run under the same format as the world championships, to decide the overall winner. There will also be a consolation competition for riders that do not qualify for the semi-final. Traveling with the competitors is experienced coach, Nick DeCosta who believes that “both riders are very capable of doing well but this competition always depends on the horses we draw.” 

The luck of the draw!

 The FEI World Jumping Challenge was created to provide less experienced Jumping riders from developing/emerging National Federations on five continents (not including North America and Western Europe) with an opportunity to compete at international level without having to leave their own countries. Nations involved in this programme are those who do not traditionally take part in international competitions.

The FEI World Jumping Challenge Final started in 2001 with sponsorship from PSI. For the first five years, the Final was held in Hagen, Germany, and also included Dressage. There were no Finals in 2006 and 2007. The FEI World Jumping Challenge Final moved to Santiago de Chile in South America, in 2008 and the Chilean Equestrian Federation organised the Final for two years in a row.

The BEF wishes both riders a safe journey filled with great competition and personal success in this premier event.  We have no doubt they will represent Bermuda and the BEF well.