Jaeda Smith and Katie Moniz have been selected by the Bermuda Equestrian Federation to represent Bermuda at the Caribbean Equestrian Federation’s (CEA) 2010 Junior Jumping competition to be held in Port of Spain Trinidad on September 18th and 19th, 2010. Smith and Moniz were due to make their international debuts as a team last November at the CEA in Jamaica, but Smith was injured in a football practice. She was replaced by Tyler Lopes and he and Moniz placed second in Jamaica.
The pair will represent Bermuda and are hoping to ride well enough to bring home the much alluded blue ribbon that continues to escape Team Bermuda! Team Bermuda have been brides maids at many of the CEA competitions this year. The final leg of the 2010 competition will be held in Jamaica in November 2010, however Trinidad will be Bermuda’s final stop on the 2010 rotation.
The CEA competition consists of the member countries of Antigua, Barbados, Cayman, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda compete in a junior jumping competition over the course of the year. Three teams travel to the islands according to their rotation for the year and are represented by two riders, a 14 years and under rider and 16 years and under rider. Smith and Moniz will compete in the two age groups respectively. The girls will ride a series of local horses from Trinidad that they would’ve never ridden prior to the competition and will only have five minutes to get used to on competition day!
Smith has been riding for seven years and Moniz who is Bermudian and resides in Georgia, has been riding since the age of five. Michael Rodrigues will be the traveling coach for the girls. Rodrigues has traveled with the teams to other CEA competitions and he also shows on the local circuit.
