YOUNG CARTER HAS HER EYE ON THE EQUESTRIA 2006 CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Nineteen year-old horse rider, Lexi Carter is set to give the older, and perhaps more accomplished, participants in the upcoming Equestria Indoor Grand Prix of South Africa a real run for the prize money.

In 2005, Carter, riding her horse Brag, delivered a sterling performance, taking forth place overall in the Equestria Indoor Grand Prix. She was the youngest rider in the top four and, this year she plans to better her ranking to hopefully be the youngest rider to win the championship.

Carter and Brag are hard at work training for Equestria and have also been busy competing in various other showjumping events around the country. And, if their performance so far is anything to go by, Carter and Brag are certainly in the running for the grand prize at Equestria 2006.

The pair recently won the Showjumping World Cup Qualifier at Pietermaritzburg and was placed third in the Presidents Cup at Maple Drive. Currently, Carter is in second position on the World Cup ranking.

Carter, whose mother owns a riding instruction school, first got onto a horse at the tender age of three and began competing when she was nine years old. After leaving school, Carter spent a year in the United Kingdom where she underwent extensive training and competed against riders from that country and abroad. Her two horses, Brag and Pick-pocket are both thoroughbreds she bought “off the track”. She herself has trained them to be prize-winning showjumpers.

Carter says she is excited about the upcoming Equestria show but admits that some of the riders competing this year could prove difficult to beat. She adds that despite being a new title, the Equestria Indoor Grand Prix of South Africa title is a good one to have.

“Competing in Equestria is also excellent experience for riders wanting to compete at international level. It is the only world-class standard indoor showjumping events in South Africa,” she concludes.