New Zealand vaulter Jasmyn Rodriguez heads home from the FEI World Championships for Young Vaulters in Flyinge, Sweden excited for her future in the sport. The Auckland teen placed 29th overall in the inaugural Young Vaulter Champs for 16-21-year-olds. She was one of 33 combinations from across the globe chasing top honours and competed aboard San Felice Z with lunger Christina Ender (GER).
Jasmyn contested three classes – the compulsory where she scored 6.095, the technical where she garnered 5.377 and finally the freestyle where she was awarded a mark of 6.701. Her final tally across the three was 6.398 with the class won by Alice Layher (GER) aboard Lambic van Strokappeleken on 8.606. “I was mostly happy with my marks but there are some things that could’ve been better which lets me see where I can improve,” said Jasmyn. ”I was super happy with the horse – he had nice marks for all our rounds. I can definitely say I really enjoyed my time in the arena, that was definitely a highlight.”
Her coach Catarina Strom was hugely proud of Jasmyn’s achievements. “She took it all in with poise and confidence,” said Catarina. It hadn’t been an ideal lead up to the worlds for Jasmyn who cracked her tailbone while training meaning valuable time lost. She also had to change horses and get new costumes. “She was extremely lucky to secure a place on one of the best horses the competition saw, scoring over seven and even an eight. I think she is pleased with the experience of the nine months training and competing with us in Europe.”
Jasmyn is heading home to regroup and already has her sights set on competing at senior level in 3* events. “She’s already planning her training and saving for the next two years with the goal of representing New Zealand again – this time with more experience under her belt,” says Catarina.
MORE INFO: https://www.vaulting2023.com/
START LISTS AND RESULTS: https://vaulting.events/39/
By Diana Dobson – ESNZ high performance media liaison