The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) is the governing body of international show jumping worldwide. The FEI serves the sport through a variety of protocols, controls, and programs offered to athletes. For young and talented riders seeking to pursue the sport to a high level, a great introduction to international competition is the FEI Childrens’ Finals – a competition held each year in a different location in the world, for riders between the ages of 12 and 14. Riders contesting the qualifying events around the world will all jump the exact same course, with the same specifications, in an arena of the exact same dimensions, such that qualifying scores and times can be compared all over the world. The host nation will be represented by 16 riders, while the top 16 riders of the age group from around the world will also have the chance to compete at the Finals. The riders that qualify from the host nation must each supply two horses, such that they will ride one and a foreign rider will catch-ride the other. The competition takes place over several days, and is held in a format very similar to World Championships – a great introduction to top sport for these young riders. In December 2013, Canada was represented at the Finals in Brazil by Calgarian Samantha Starratt. We caught up with Samantha just after her trip. Question: What was the process for qualifying for the FEI Childrens' Finals this year in Brazil? Answer: Canadian qualifiers were held in both Western and Eastern Canada, and I ended up winning the Western qualifier that was held at Rocky Mountain Show jumping in Canada. It was four rounds, with fences up to 1.20m. I ended up being the top Canadian rider and earned a spot into the finals in Brasilia, Brazil. There were 16 foreign riders and 16 Brazilian riders qualified from around the world. Question: Who came with you to Brazil for the finals? Answer: My trainers Lynne Stephenson and Beda Wachter, as well as my parents Tonia Anderson and Scott Starratt, came with me. Question:How many times did you get to ride the borrowed horse before you had to compete? Answer: We had two 30 minute training sessions, with a maximum of six jumps per session. One session was on the day before the competition began, and one was in the morning of the competition. Question: Tell us about the horse you got and how they picked who got which horse. Answer: They picked the horses by first drawing names from a hat for each Brazilian rider, one of the two horses they provided. Once the home country finished drawing their horses, they put all the names of the foreign riders in one hat and horses in another and picked one from each hat to make the pairings. I ended up getting ‘Rupina Jmen’, an extremely nice 14 year old bay mare. She had such a good personality and was great in the ring - I wish I could have taken her home with me. Question: Would you do it all again? Is it something you would recommend to other young riders to aim for? Answer: For sure I would do it all again if I was allowed. It was such a great experience seeing all the other riders from the other countries. I would strongly recommend this competition to other young riders. It allowed me to go outside my comfort zone and learn things from others that I may have not experienced in Canada. The atmosphere was so amazing and they had a lot of family involvement. Question: What was the most important thing you learned through the whole experience? Answer: The biggest thing I learned from this whole experience was the importance of riding the horse I am on, and just getting the job done. I also learned about the lives of other riders around the world. Question: Did you have the chance to meet the owners of the horse you borrowed for the competition? Did they offer any insight that was helpful for the competition? Answer: I had the chance to meet my horse’s owner, Leonardo, who was also competing in the FEI Childrens’, and his mother. They were extremely kind and helpful, even though they spoke very little English. Leonardo gave me some tips on Rupina and was there if we had any questions. Question: Did you do anything extra-curricular while you were in Brazil? Answer: We did many other extra-curricular activities such as visiting a military regiment with a musical ride performance, a country club where we went swimming, a tour of the city of Brasilia, and had many group dinners. All the athletes sat together and we made many new friends. By the end of the competition we would all sit together on the bus. I have continued to keep in touch with many of my fellow riders. Question: What is next as a major goal for your riding? Answer: My next major goal for my riding is to compete at the North American Young Riders championship in Kentucky.
