Tyler Lopes and Julia Lines took third place at the 2010 Caribbean Equestrian Association's (CEA) Junior Jumping Competition in the Cayman Islands last weekend.

The event was held under hot and humid conditions and the Bermuda team started the first day well with Lines' first round resulting in only one time fault.

Lopes also produced a respectable first round and had four faults. Bermuda were sitting in first place going into the second round but as many have found in this competition, the tables can turn in a blink of an eye. And so they did!

A very tall Lines had to ride a little 13 hand pony in the second round – a pony that had already eliminated Jamaica's Jonathan Vaz. The smaller they are, the more devilish they can be as Lines found out as she had two refusals which resulted in our first elimination – 25 faults.

Lopes also had a difficult ride in the second round and had to ride for every jump which resulted in 12 faults.

Day two saw Lines produce a respectable clear round and put Bermuda back on track. However Lopes' horse was difficult and had two refusals and subsequent elimination.

Manager Keisha Smith said: "This was pretty much how day two went for all the riders producing a record number of eliminations ever for a CEA competition. We were in good company! Going into the fourth and final round it was anybody's game. Lopes finished with a respectable clear round while Lines had an unfortunate fall to fence three which resulted in an elimination. Lines finished first in the 14 & Under age bracket while Lopes finished in fourth in the 16 & Under age group.

"Host country Cayman took first place over Jamaica by three points with Bermuda third and Trinidad fourth."

Smith added: "Both riders rode very well despite the results. Cayman have a fleet of challenging little ponies that tested every rider. Julia and Tyler rose to the challenge but lady luck wasn't on our side."

The Bermuda leg of the competition will be held on May 8-9 and the Island will host Barbados, Cayman and Jamaica.

Smith added: "We want to thank our title sponsor Montpelier Re and our team sponsors, Butterfield Bank, ACE Limited and Crown Landscaping."

Results:

1: Cayman (89 faults in total, no time)

2: Jamaica (92 faults in total in a time of 44.07)

3: Bermuda (92 faults in total in a time of 45.57)

4: Trinidad (96 faults in a time of 55.22)

Last weekend the Bermuda Horse and Pony Association held their spring show that saw many junior riders shine.

Khaleb Tota was the top overall junior rider taking home a slew of blue ribbons. Emma Womack was the reserve overall junior champion.

Day one began with a few jumper classes with Tota, Jaeda Smith, Sasha Kane, Emma Womack, JayLynn Hines, Michael Rodrigues and Claire Howard taking top honours.

The remainder of the weekend showcased junior and adult riders competing in hunter and equitation classes. The pony "You'll be Amazed" continues to amaze and was the pony to beat in the hunter pony division, with "The Guardian" close on his behind.

The junior hunter horse division saw Sarah Wight's "Gold River" take the champion post and "Brown Eyed Girl" the reserve.