Annabelle Collins enters today’s dressage event at the Deodoro Sports Complex, in the west of the Rio, brimming with confidence after an encouraging performance in the individual first qualifier.

The Barcelona-based Bermudian finished a credible third in the 14-strong field behind Tom Dvorak, of Canada, and Lauren Sammis of the USA who scored highly with the judges after a masterclass of precision horsemanship.

While Collins’ display was not faultless she did manage an overall percentage score of 65.000, with leader Sammis scoring 70.200.

Ever the perfectionist the 29-year-old refused to be overly satisfied with her ride and insisted there were aspects of her performance that must improve if she was to claim a podium position at Pan-Am.

“I start with a clean sheet today and feel good after Saturday’s ride, but I know I’ll have to make improvements if I want a memorable Pan-Am,” said Collins who was the first Bermuda athlete to arrive in Rio. “I’ll certainly be looking to tweak one or two things before I go into the event.

“I’ve watched the video of Saturday’s ride and on the whole I’m reasonably happy. I was particularly pleased with my horse Midici, a Westfalen Stallion, who I’ve been riding for two years now.

“He seemed really happy in his work and was very rideable - it’s always encouraging when your horse shows no signs of being spooked at a major event.” Today’s intermediary will feature a more difficult format; requiring complicated moves that Collins believes will suit Midici.

The top 15 competitors will go into Wednesday’s final that will also be staged at the National Equestrian Centre, in the Deodoro Sports Complex.

The venue has 180 stables; a figure that in the future can be increased to up to 250, which would accredit it for competitions in Olympic Games.

Its cross-country track has been designed by the same architect responsible for building the track that will be used in London during the Olympic Games.