9 Nations Including 5 Teams Entered for Central American & Caribbean Games in Mexico
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Oct. 28, 2014
Horses and riders from nine nations have entered five teams and four individual combinations in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico in mid-November, seeking to qualify for the Pan American Games in 2015.
Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Mexico have entered teams while individual combinations are from Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Puerto Rico for the Games scheduled for Nov. 15-30, according to an unofficial tally of entries.
This is the first time minimum qualifying scores have been required at the world’s oldest continuing regional games that were first staged in Mexico in 1926 and equestrian sports included in 1935.
The regional games–South American Games were held in Chile earlier this year–have taken on added importance following the 2011 Pan Ams in Guadalajara, Mexico where dressage entries exceeded the quota for one of the world’s largest sporting events that will next be held in Toronto in July.
The three best teams from each of the regional games qualify for the Pan Ams, joining Canada as the host and the United States that earned a start at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy in August. The three best ranked individuals from each of the regional games and the WEG also qualify for the Pan Ams.
An airlift of horses has been scheduled from Florida where many of the riders are based or have moved to in readiness for the winter-long Global Dressage Festival in Wellington.
About 5,700 athletes from 31 countries will participate in 46 sports, including the three Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and jumping.
The Wellington-based Marco Bernal led Colombia to team gold and won individual gold at the previous Central Americans in Puerto Rico in 2010.
