SANTO DOMINGO – Curaçao secured third place in the nations ranking at the world championship for paso horse riders, held from July 15 to 19 in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.
The result marked a strong international performance for the Curaçao delegation at the 15th Mundial de Amazonas y Jinetes, organized by CONFEPASO.
Curaçao also earned recognition in the individual competition. Eighteen-year-old Alvinn Cannister finished fourth in the category for riders between the ages of 18 and 20.
His performance was particularly notable because he had only ten minutes to train with the horse he ultimately rode in the competition.
Cannister had initially been assigned another horse and had trained with it twice. However, one day before his next scheduled training session, the horse was assigned to someone else. He was therefore forced to switch at the last minute to an animal with which he had almost no experience.
In this type of equestrian competition, judges focus primarily on the rider's skill rather than the quality of the horse. Participants are assessed on posture, seating position, balance, rhythm, control and coordination between horse and rider.
Under the competition rules, the horse's own ability is intended to carry less weight in the final assessment.
Curaçao participated with a large delegation in the international championship. Riders from Aruba, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the United States and host country the Dominican Republic were also among those competing.
The delegation's return journey was less successful. A large number of participants became stranded in Santo Domingo on Wednesday evening.
According to information provided to the travelers by airline Arajet, flights to Curaçao and Aruba could no longer operate because the airports were closed.
The airline accommodated the passengers in a hotel and informed them that they were expected to depart for Curaçao at 11:00 a.m. the following day. However, at the time of the latest update, it remained uncertain whether that flight would proceed as scheduled.