top international riders in this weekend's $20,000 Bermuda Show Jumping Classic at the Botanical Gardens.

The youngsters -- Ashley D'Amato, Tiffany Thorne, Philip Correia, Audrey Banks and Lauren Mahoney -- will ride in the pony section of the five-category Bermuda Commercial Bank Team Competition, the highlight of the first day of the Island's premier equestrian event and worth $5,000 to the winning team.

They will jump a course of obstacles of a maximum three feet in height and their score will be combined with those of the other members of teams which comprise one novice horse, one open intermediate horse, one open horse and an international rider.

Paul Pereech, spokesman for the event, said: "The whole purpose of having the internationals is to get a team camaraderie going, to get local riders competing with and against the professionals and to give the younger children exposure to them.'' The five overseas professionals are Yannick Patron, of France, Laura Chapot of the US, Harry Marshall, from Northern Ireland, Swede Peter Eriksson and Canada's Jill Henselwood.

Patron has competed regularly on the Island since winning the Bermuda Mini Grand Prix in 1988, while Chapot, daughter of Olympic veterans Mary and Frank Chapot, won the Grand Prix of Palm Beach and competed with the US team in Europe earlier this year.

Marshall is enjoying his most successful season so far, having won three Grand Prix on three different horses and Eriksson is a five-time Swedish champion.

Henselwood, who has represented Canada 11 times, won her country's Olympic team selection trial in 1996, but declined her Olympic berth because she felt her horse, Aerial, was too inexperienced.

Ann Lindroth and Harriet Richold are among the top Bermudian performers bidding to become the first locals to win the $5,000 Grand Prix, which rounds off Sunday's competition.

READY FOR THE BIG SHOW -- Two of the local riders who will be taking part in the Bermuda Showjumping Classic this weekend are Cole Simons (top) and Catrina Adcock (above).