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English Equestrian To Compete For Jamaica At 2020 Olympics

Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender Entertainment and Sport (right) greets Lydia Heywood, the England-born Eventing rider, who plans to represent Jamaica at the next Olympics. Photo contributed.

English Equestrian To Compete For Jamaica At 2020 Olympics

NEW KINGSTON, Jamaica December 15, 2018 — Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment Sport, Olivia Grange, told Lydia Heywood, the England-born Eventing rider, who plans to represent Jamaica at the next Olympics: “We are thrilled that you have decided to represent Jamaica, and we could do no less than to assist you to achieve your goals.”

“You can expect assistance from the Ministry, as you make your preparations to represent us,” the Minister added.

The 21-year-old Heywood, who was first taken to Jamaica as a baby, is on what is now her second visit. She met with Grange at the Minister’s New Kingston offices, yesterday.

The Sport Minister assured Heywood that she would be making a number of approaches, which should result in significant resources for her program of preparation, between now and 2020, when the Olympics will take place in Japan.

Heywood, whose father hails from Clarendon, is accompanied on her visit by her mother, Clare, who is English.

She said, “I started at 10 on my Eventing journey, when I joined a pony club in Gloucestershire, where we live, and I have trained hard, through the years, to perfect each stage of Eventing, which are dressage, show jumping and cross country.

“I know my drive for success will get me to my goal of winning Jamaica’s first Olympic equestrian medal.”

Minister Grange said that, she wanted Heywood, who returns to England, tomorrow, to visit Jamaica soon again, “as we wish to put you out there to the Jamaican public”.

Eventing is an equestrian event, where a single horse and rider combination compete against other combinations, across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping.


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