Georgia Young and Amanda Harris Represent Canada at FEI Children’s Final

Ottawa, ON – Georgia Young of Calgary, AB, and Amanda Harris of Aurora, ON, represented Canada at the 2009 FEI Children’s Jumping Final held December 11-18 at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The FEI International Jumping Children’s Final is for show jumping competitors aged 12 to 14. Each country is represented by a maximum of two riders with the exception of the host country, who is entitled to have a number of competitors equal to the number of foreign entries. Foreign riders compete on borrowed horses, supplied by the host country. The competition was created to promote and encourage talented young riders by giving them the opportunity to experience international competition with support from the FEI.

Young jumped clear to place ninth out of 28 entries in the opening qualifying round riding Le Verdy de la Cavee, an 11-year-old selle français. In the second qualifying round, Young finished in 16th place. Based on her results, Young was among the top 14 riders that advanced to the Final. In the Final, Young had five faults to finish in ninth place overall.

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Mohamed Jabri of Syria won the competition with a clear jump-off round in a time of 46.77 seconds. Ayesha Al-Shamsi of the United Arab Emirates placed second while Hadi Nizam of Syria was third with four faults.

“The courses got tougher and more technical as the competition progressed,” said Young, 14, who trains with 1986 World Show Jumping Champion, Gail Greenough. “My trip to Abu Dhabi was an experience I will never forget. I would like to thank the FEI, the competition organizers and Jump Canada for this amazing opportunity. I had an incredible time and made friends that I will never forget.”

Harris, 14, competed in the consolation round where she finished in seventh place with five faults. Madeline Wilson of the United Arab Emirates won the competition. Rosario Diaz of Chile was second while Alexy Filippov of Russia rounded out the top three.

“The competition was so much fun,” said Harris. “I enjoyed meeting all the other riders from around the world. It was a really great experience. I’d like to thank the organizing committee. They did a really fantastic job running the competition.”

Harris and Young earned the right to represent Canada at the FEI Children’s Final by winning the two Canadian qualifiers. Young won the western qualifier held at the Rocky Mountain Classic Week II from August 25–29, while Harris won the eastern qualifier held during the CornerStone Week 3 at Bronte Creek Equestrian Centre in Milton, ON, from July 8–12.