Report from Catrin Glawischnig, coach of the team attending the FEI Childrens Jumping competition on borrowed horses, held at the Polo and Riding Club in Santiago, Chile November 5^th to 8^th 2009.

The first two days were taken up with technical meeting and try outs for the horses which had been decided upon by a draw. JayLynn was competing in the 14 to 16 Pre Junior Classes and Azaria in the 13 to 14 years old classes

Azaria was riding a big stallion who was only 6 years old and in the first day of competition against 42 other riders she had a very good round within the time allowed but dropped a rail so did not place on that day. She rode very well and kept her nerve at a height that she has not had much prior experience

JayLynn was riding a small and skinny inexperienced gelding and thanks to her confidence and energy she managed to place 4^th out of 30 in her class with a clear round.

Not many people there spoke English so it was good to be able to use Spanish to communicate with other riders, owners, grooms and coaches in order to get some inside tips. The food was very good and the wine tasting not bad either.  The girls managed to get some early nights in order to be ready for the competitions each day

On the third day Azaria, had her final competition but in the warm up her horse was not quite well and would not even clear the x rails for her. After many attempts the jury decided to let her ride another horse, so after a couple of practice jumps she was sent into the ring. The ride was much better than the one from the second day but she had one rail and one time fault so did not place.

JayLynn competed well on the second day, which brought her into the final of her age group, but unfortunately had a refusal at the first jump and then one more later so she was eliminated on the last day. We were very disappointed but at the same time very pleased as both girls rode very well on strange horses.

We were able to watch the final of the FEI competition and the closing ceremony which included folkloric dances and ridden demonstrations by many different groups.

In conclusion we did not do as well as we had hoped but we learned a lot and know what we have to work on to be more competitive in this sort of competition. The teamwork of colleagues, new friends, parents and coaches was good and the bonding with borrowed horses can be improved by trying to expose our kids to more different rides at home and to work on different techniques. Our riders need the exposure and experience and this was a learning experience not only in riding but life as well.