BERMUDA Olympic show jumper Jill Terceira won a Puissance Class again when she competed earlier this month in Vienna, Austria.

Last month Terceira and her Olympic mount Chaka jumped the highest she have ever gone when competing in Alzburg, Austria as they won the High Fly Finale-Puissance Class at the CSI four star at a sellout indoor stadium.

In Vienna at the four star show this month, Terceira, who is based in Holland, tied for first place with Robert Whitaker who was riding Finbarr V.

Terceira said that Whitaker has won 15 Puissance classes with his horse this year.

"We both cleared 2.20 metres (7 feet 4 inches) in the final round," she told the Mid-Ocean News. And that equals the height she jumped in October in Alzburg.

"I also twice placed 15th with Trump in 1.40 metre and 1.5 metre classes. Trump is an up-and-coming eight-year-old, Belgian Warmblood, chestnut, gelding. I have been riding and training him since he was five years old and with more experience, I hope he will do well in Grand Prix classes next year."

Puissance is the high-jump competition in the sport of show jumping.

The competition involves a maximum of five rounds ¿ opening round followed by four jump-offs not against the clock. The first round consists of four to six large single obstacles including the puissance wall, the starting height of which can vary from 1.70 metres to 1.80 metres in height. For the jump-offs, in which the fences are raised for each round, there are only two obstacles ¿ a spread fence and the wall ¿ although an optional practice fence is included. In the event of equality after the fifth round, riders share first prize.

Last month in Alzburg, Terceira and Chaka cleared 2.20 metres on the way to winning the title.

"I have never jumped so high in my life," Terceira said at the time. Now she has done it twice.

Terceira is competing in the indoor season in Europe before going outdoors earlier next year. Of the show in the historic city of Vienna this month Terceira said: "The show is held at Wiener-Stadthalle in the middle of the city. It is one of my favourite shows."

Meanwhile 22-year-old Bermuda rider Claire Howard just returned from Chile after competing in the FEI World jumping Challenge final. Howard won the right to go to Chile after placing second in Bermuda's World Group in the 2007 FEI Challenge.

Her coach, Dawn Fox who went with her, said: "It was a wonderful event and there were some very good riders from all around the world there. It certainly was a great experience for Claire even though she didn't get to the final because her horse just refused to even a approach one particular jump. Also our competition here is 1.20 metres whereas in many of the other countries they compete at 1.40 metres and they also have a lot more exposure than we do here. But Claire did well and was complimented by many of the other riders. She did a good job."

Before going to Chile, Howard spent a week with Bermuda show jumper Patrick Nesbitt at his base in England. "Patrick really worked Claire hard ¿ he was great and helped a lot," said Fox.