Patrick Nisbett will put Bermuda on the equestrian world stage this October at the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games (“WEG”) in Lexington, Kentucky. Nisbett is the first Bermudian to have qualified for this prestigious event in the discipline of Show Jumping.
In July of 2009 Nisbett secured a qualification for WEG for himself and his great mare Antille 8, and then to ensure he could guarantee himself a mount at the competition, he looked to qualify a second horse. This spring he qualified Cantaro 32, which not only provides him the security he needs to be able to compete, but allows him to be able to pick a mount that he believes will perform the best at WEG.
This year, Nisbett spent some time in Spain on the prestigious Sunshine tour, in Vejer de la Frontera to continue to develop himself and his horses. Eyes raised and smiles appeared when Patrick and Cantaro 32 jumped an impressive height of 2 meters (or 6ft 7in) to secure a tie for first in a 6 bar jumping class alongside well-known British rider Robert Whitaker. After his successful tour in Spain, Nisbett then moved his whole team of horses to Germany where he started his final preparations for the World Equestrian Games.
Since February, Nisbett has placed in the top ten 29 times while competing against the best of the best in Europe, and together with this team of mounts, he has jumped 44 clear rounds during this period. In the first week of June 2010 Nisbett and Cantaro 32 placed 1st in a grand prix and a FEI world cup qualifier in Slovenia, which was another impressive win for the duo. The enviable problem Nisbett now faces is deciding which mount he will actually declare to take to the competition. Should he chose Antille 8 who he originally qualified, and through injury missed competing at the 2008 Olympic Games, or should he take Cantaro 32 who seems to be on a roll this year and is getting better each week?
At the end of September Chef d’ Equipe Heidi Mello, and Nisbett’s trainer Olaf Petersen from Germany will meet him and his chosen mount in Lexington Kentucky ahead of the start of WEG. Petersen, an internationally respected horseman and course designer at the highest levels of show jumping competition will coach Nisbett throughout the games.
Nisbett has a tremendous support team in Bermuda helping him to secure his funding to go to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, but as many know, international competition is not cheap! The Bermuda Equestrian Federation, Registered Charity #214, is actively fund raising to support Nisbett’s trip to WEG including hosting a Captain’s Choice team fund raising event at Belmont Hills on August 21st for the cause.
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