Jock Mackillop reports on Australia's success at the recent FEI Children's Jumping competition in Colombia
In early August Jamie Priestley (Camberwarra NSW) and Riley Mackillop (Terrey Hills NSW) were selected to represent Australia in the FEI Children's showjumping competition in Bogota Colombia. Jock Mackillop was selected as the Chef d'Equipe.
On the 30th of August we headed off to Colombia via a 2-day stopover in Dallas, Texas to get over the jet lag. We visited Dallas Fort Worth and immersed ourselves in Cowboy culture.
On the 1st of September we arrived in Bogota, Colombia. Before the competition started we visited a salt cathedral that was created in a disused underground salt mine.
4th of September the competition started with a lovely brunch at Club Campestre Guaymaral and the drawing of the horses. The procedure here is you draw your horse and meet the owner/rider of the horse as the owner of the horse rides the same horse on the same course on the same day as the international rider who is borrowing it. In Final A, 50% of the field were Colombians riding their own horses.
Jamie drew a 16.1hh chestnut called Tatabra Trinidad and Riley drew a 17.2hh chestnut called Caramelo. After the brunch we headed to the warm up ring to trial their horses. Having six jumps in a limited time to get to know their horses. Jamie’s seemed a little fresh and green but both horses seemed to warm up well.
The day after there was a training round where Riley rode the giant 17.2hh Caramelo. He tapped the first rail and threw in a buck and sent Riley flying! Upon leaving the ring we were advised to use his redraw option as the FEI official felt they weren’t suited. The next horse in the draw was a 16.1hh Bay called Fugitivo (the Fugitive). As the practice round had finished Riley didn’t get a practice round on his new horse so just six jumps! Tatabra Trinidad had a nice clear round and we subsequently learnt she was only a 5yr old!
The next day was the first of the two qualifiers. In this first qualifier Jamie rode very well on her tricky 5yr old but had an unlucky rail. Riley placed 7th after a nice clear round.
That night the group headed off to an entertaining activity called… Donkey Racing!! This was a great night that was very funny. Jamie and Riley paired up on the same Donkey and won their heat and Jamie went onto the final.
The next day, the grooms had tacked up their horses. Jamie rode very well and had a very nice controlled clear round. Riley rode well with a confident clear round to finish up in 8th place.
This meant both Riley and Jamie qualified in Final A!
The Final B competition was held on the 8th of September. Both Fugitivo and Tatabra Trinidad were in this class with their normal riders and finished ninth and third respectively.
The next day was the Final A.
Jamie was 5th out on Tatabra Trinidad, the young horse was a little flat and they didn’t make it through to the jump off. Riley had one of the 11 clear rounds and this qualified him for the jump off. The jump off commenced and Riley was 5th out. He went round and did a tight line that only 1 other rider managed to complete. This set Riley up for a very fast time. He finished his course overly excited and waited to see how the last 6 riders went. The final rider was on, and Riley was holding on to first place. He waited with baited breath for her to finish and she had a slower time, which meant Riley won!!! After this he was overjoyed and got lots of congratulations from other competitors, friends and Jamie. He received his 1st place rosette and then went to the podium to receive his trophy and Best Foreign Rider certificate and then stood to the Australian National Anthem and the raising of the Australian flag, which made him feel very proud to represent his country successfully.
After the lap of honour he rode out of the ring to his waiting friends and the time honored tradition of throwing the winner in the water trough! He put up a fight but they managed to throw him into the trough of really cold water. He then chased down his friends and gave them all wet hugs!
That night there was a farewell party at Andres restaurant. This was a crazy restaurant that had every ornament you could think of hanging from the ceiling! It was crazy but it was also a very fun night with all their friends dancing and having a great time.
The next day we went to a place called Mt Montserrat (elev. 3152m). There is a church on the very top of the mountain that is the highest point in Bogota which looks over the whole city. This was amazing to see and we had lunch at a lovely restaurant situated next to the church.
After one last sleep we headed off on the 11th of September on our journey home. There was 22 hours flying time and we spent 37 hours in transit! We arrived home to very welcoming family and friends!
This was an amazing experience and both Jamie and Riley should be proud of how they rode, behaved and supported each other, to reach Final A is a feat in itself. Bogota is a beautiful place and the people fall over themselves to help you. The facilities are first class, the horses are immaculate and the people of Colombia wonderful.
We would recommend anyone to go to this event.
A special thank you to organizers Jorge Verswyvel and Dorranne and all the officials who ran a seamless show.
10 September 2012
Success for young riders representing Australia at FEI Colombian Jumping Competition
Young Australian Jumping riders have experienced success over the weekend at the FEI International Children's Jumping Competition in Bogota, Colombia.
Young riders Jamie Priestley and Riley Mackillop, competing in category B, performed extremely well in the opening rounds and were among the 19 riders to progress through to final A.
Jamie rode well on a tricky 5 year old mare and Riley jumped clear in the final round to make it into the jump off. He went on to win the Grand Derby Final A of the FEI Children’s Jumping Competition Category B by three seconds!
Both rode outstandingly well and this is a fantastic achievement as both riders were competing against their Colombian competitors on borrowed horses.
Congratulations to Riley and Jamie for their fantastic efforts and results.
21 August 2012
Young riders announced for Bogota Jumping competition
Congratulations to Jamie Priestley and Riley Mackillop both of NSW, who have been selected to compete in the FEI Children's Jumping competition in Bogota, Colombia, 3-9 September 2012.
This is a borrowed horse event and their horses will be determined on a lucky draw basis.
Both Jamie and Riley will compete in the 12-14 years category, and will ride against many other nations in this prestigious competition.
They will be accompanied by Jock Mackillop as the Chef D’Equipe and their families. Jamie's father Kel Priestly will be assisting Jock when the riders warm-up.
Results will be posted on the EA website when they are made available.
27 July 2012
EOI for FEI Children's Jumping competition in Bogota on borrowed horses
Equestrian Australia has received an invitation from the Colombian Federation for a team of 2 riders (one rider aged between 12-14 years (latest year of birth 1998, and one rider aged 12 years old (latest year of birth 2000) and 1 official to compete in a borrowed horse event at the FEI Children's International Jumping Competition Category B, Bogota, Colombia 3-9 September 2012.
The event will consist of three qualifying competitions and a final for riders of each category. The maximum height of 1.10m for the 12-14 years category, and 0.9/1.0m for the 12 year old class.
Equestrian Australia would like to invite members to indicate their interest to compete at this competition in Bogota. All interested riders will need to complete the Expressions of Interest form below.
The Show Organising Committee will provide the following:
· Transfer from (airport - hotel - airport) and to and from the show ground.
· The competition horses
· Meals
· Social Events
The riders will be responsible for:
· Return airfares to Bogota
· Hotel accommodation ( US$170-190 per night)
· Insurance (The EA National Office can assist with this insurance)
The Official/Chef’d Equipe will be responsible for:
· Return airfares to Bogota
· Accommodation in a local hotel
· Receiving and returning the team uniforms from the EA
· Liaising with Team Members to coordinate travel so that all team members travel together
· Provide team results and an event report/story post competition
· Complete the EA Chef report within 5 working days post competition.
· Insurance (The EA National Office can assist with this insurance)
The EA National office will provide administration support and a uniform for the selected riders.
Please complete the form below and fax to the National Office on (02) 9763 2466(02) 9763 2466 if you would like to be considered for the FEI Children’s Category B event, Bogota, Colombia.
Applications close at 5pm, Friday 4th August, 2012.
Please contact Mandy at the EA National Office on (02) 8762 7777(02) 8762 7777 if you have any questions regarding this competition
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