A Day of ‘Firsts’ for Cayman’s Dressage Riders

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 11 February 2019

High Point Junior rider, Olivia Ziemniak riding Zeus (Photos by Joanna Humphries)

Cayman’s dressage riders tacked up on Sunday, 3 February to compete in the first of three national dressage shows scheduled to take place this season, each of which is sponsored by the Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation (CIEF).

Held at the Equestrian Center located in George Town on the Linford Pierson Highway, the show saw 29 entries for the day.

Marilyn Kulifay (USEF – r) of Houston, TX flew in to judge. It was her second time on island judging a CIEF dressage show, and she said she was excited to see the progression in Cayman’s dressage athletes since her last visit.

At the start of the day, Jessica McTaggart dazzled the crowd as she and her horse Loris 7 rode the Prix St. Georges Test, competing together for the first time with an international (FEI) level test.

McTaggart has her sights set on qualifying for the 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games with Loris 7, a beautiful German warmblood she purchased as a young, undeveloped 4 year old and has trained up the levels, hoping to return to the international stage with him as her new mount. Given her fine performance, she appears well on her way.

Jessica McTaggart, riding Loris 7, has her eyes set on the CAC Games.

Several riders were competing in a CIEF Dressage show for the first time including Jenna Superfine, Rosana Stroh, Tami Maines, Cathy Osborne and Gina Lomas. A special mention goes to Sierra Martin who celebrated her birthday by winning the USDF B Test Class, which was the largest class of the day with 8 entries. High Point Champions were Olivia Zeimniak riding Zeus at Training Level Test 1 and Eve van den Bol riding her horse, Whindlass, at Training Level Test 3.

Winners of each class in decreasing order of difficulty were:

FEI Prix St. Georges Jessica McTaggart on Loris 7

Second Level Test 1 Jessica McTaggart on Blue Ridge Dream On

First Level Test 3 – Adult Gina Lomas on Sunday’s Edition

First Level Test 1 – Adult Abbey Swartz on Calidad

First Level Test 1 – Junior Kayla Mannisto on Pony Up

Training Level Test 3 – Adult Eve van den Bol on Whindlass

Training Level Test 3 – Junior Kayla Mannisto on Pony Up

Training Level Test 1 – Junior Olivia Ziemniak on Zeus

USDF C Test – Adult Tami Maines on Partenon

USDF C Test – Junior Olivia Ziemniak on Zeus

USDF B Test – Adult Tami Maines on Partenaon

USDF B Test – Junior Sierra Martin on Twinkle

Birthday girl, Sierra Martin, riding Twinkle.

The CIEF is the national governing body for equestrian sport in the Cayman Islands. The CIEF produces a series of equestrian competitions, arranges training opportunities with professionals from overseas, supports the Cayman Islands’ participation in international equestrian sporting events and works with the Cayman Islands’ government to prevent the abuse of horses on the island.

The next dressage show sponsored by the CIEF will take place on 24 February at 8:00am at the Equestrian Center located on the Linford Pierson Highway. As always, spectators are welcome and admission is free. Refreshments will also be available for purchase.