PAN American Games show jumper Jill Terceira will now have a choice of what horse she will take to Rio de Janeiro this summer after her mount Navantus qualified at shows in Italy and Austria.“You can only take one horse to the competition but this allows me a choice,” said Terceira this week from her Holland home. She had previously qualified her other stallion Chaka last year.

“I will be keeping them in both top form and I will take who I feel will handle the weather, footing and other aspects the best. I just hope I make the right choice,” the Bermuda rider added.

Terceira will compete along with England-based Patrick Nisbett in the show jumping in Brazil while Annabelle Collins will compete in the dressage.

The rider was especially happy that Navantus qualified.

“I have had him since he was four years old — back then he was my sole and only horse,” she said of the 12-year-old bay stallion. “It is exciting for Navantus.”

Terceira said she expected the heat in Rio to be in the “80s and 90s” and that usually her other mount Chaka handles the heat better.

“It will be a tough choice on who to take,” she said.

Terceira qualified Navantus during two shows this year — the first at a show in Arezzo, Italy on the Toscana Tour last month while the second qualification came in Austria a couple of weeks ago at a show in Lamprechtshausen.

“The Toscana Tour is similar to the Sunshine Tour in Spain,” said Terceira who competed on that Sunshine Tour in 2006 along with Nisbett who again went to Spain this past February.

Both riders will be flying their horses from Europe to Brazil on the same plane.

“I talked to Patrick recently and we discussed the shipping arrangements. I have had a quote from a Belgian shipper who has been in touch with two riders from Venezuela and one Dominican rider who are all based in Europe who are also competing. So now it looks like there will not be any issues of not be able to get a flight. There will be at least four and possible six horses leaving for the Games from Europe.”

And the European-based horses will only have to be in quarantine for about seven days before leaving — not long at all considering past quarantine times.

“We will also be able to work them in quarantine — not jump them but we will be able to ride them and lunge them,” she said adding, “but I expect they will be in tip-top shape anyway so it shouldn’t be a concern.”

While Terceira bought Navantus as a youngster in Holland, she bought South African Chaka a few years ago and although he is 14 years old, competitively he is younger, she said.

“He was in quarantined for two years once! So he lost two years of his competitive life,” she explained.

Terceira will take both horses to a show in St. Tropez in France at the beginning of June and will compete in the same classes as she will be doing in Rio. “Also it is on sand which is the same footing as in Rio,” she added.

From there she will take them to another show in France and do a couple of smaller classes so as not to push them too much. Finally she will compete in a national show in Germany before her Swedish trainer arrives for a final peaking before setting out for Rio.