Bermuda's eventing star MJ Tumbridge is aiming for a top three finish in this year's Pan-Am Games - but has warned the public not to expect the high standard set by Bermuda's Gold when she won gold in Winnipeg in 1999.

Tumbridge has already qualified for the event, which takes place in Maryland, USA and not in the Dominican Republic which will host the bulk of this summer's Games. But she said the two horses from which she will choose her mount are still learning the eventing ropes and won't put on the same level of performance as Bermuda's Gold, who was in her prime.

However, the 38-year-old, who believes she has a good chance of getting in the medals, has fixed her sights on a place in the Athens Olympics next summer.

By then, she said she will have a good team of six horses to choose from - something she is praying will help her bring an Olympic gold back to the Island.

"Wouldn't it be good if I could win a gold medal for Bermuda at the Olympics?" she said. "I love riding for Bermuda - I love flying the flag."

After the disappointment of the Sydney Olympics in 2000, when Bermuda's Gold had to be put down after sustaining an injury, Tumbridge, together with benefactors Amanda and Patrick Rolfe, has been building up a line of eventing horses.

But, she said, it was taking time to breed mounts with a lineage that comes totally from eventing stock.

Her two Pan-Am hopefuls, Ginger May Killinghurst and Lily the Pink, will be eight and nine when the Olympics come round, whereas Bermuda's Gold was 13 and had much more experience.

Another horse, Spartan Rose, is also in contention for the Pan-Am Games, but it is likely Tumbridge will take Ginger May Killinghurst because she is slightly more advanced overall than Lily the Pink, who hasn't yet competed in a three-star event which would set her up for the Pan-Am Games.

However, she conceded that Lily the Pink was a better jumper but was let down by her dressage skills.

"Lily the Pink is still getting used to my style, it is not going as quickly as I would have liked. Whereas I have had Ginger May for four years and I have been her only rider - we really work well together."

Eventing consists of dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

MJ herself has shed 25 pounds in her bid for glory and is currently in the middle of an eventing season in which she will compete in around 40 meets in the UK and Europe from her base in Surrey, England.

She hopes that by the time the Pan-Am Games come round she and her horses will be in tip-top condition to win for Bermuda.