Abby Bardgett stole the show at the National Equestrian Centre on Saturday by winning three classes in the final phase of the 2025 FEI Jumping World Challenge.

Bardgett partnered three different horses to dominate the competition, winning the 1.20 to 1.30m Catgory A class on Causing Chaos after finishing with 13 faults in a time of 61.81sec.

Cruise Control was Bardgett’s willing partner in Category B (1.10 to 1.20m), with the pair finishing their round with 12 faults in 60.33, while Bardgett’s best performance arguably came on Up Up & Away in Category C, with the duo picking up just four faults in a time of 56.36.

Bardgett was pleased to pick up three victories, especially on horses that require different amounts of assistance from the saddle.

“I didn’t go into the competition expecting a hat-trick, so it was a nice surprise,” Bardgett said.

“It’s always a challenge to move from one horse to another, as each horse has its own style which the rider needs to adapt to.

“Causing Chaos is my daughter, Kayla’s, horse and she successfully competed with him, winning in category A in previous years. I put a lot more pressure on myself because of that, even though he is a new horse-rider combination for me. Causing Chaos is a chill dude at home, but he loves to perform in the show ring and his personality comes alive.

“I’ve had the pleasure of jumping both Cruise Control and Up, Up & Away over the last four years at lower heights. I moved up to Category B with Cruise Control this season after he won Category B the last two years with Tyler James, his owner. I’m thrilled with his performance. He’s always quite the character, always looking for attention.

“Up, Up & Away is my fun ride. He steps up to any challenge I put in front of him. He is a very careful horse, and he always does his best. He has a big stride, which allows us to have quick times without it looking like it.”

While Bardgett dominated the third round of the challenge, riders are allowed to discard their worst performance with their best two rounds counting for the overall competition.

With all results taken into account, the overall Category A winner was Jaylynn Hines and her athletic mount Toto D’ysenbeeck, who were awarded the Aon Trophy with a cumulative total of 20 faults and 116.39.

Bardgett picked up the Nightmare Trophy and the Central Carolina Trophy after winning Category B and Category C respectively. She had a total score of 12 faults and cumulative time of 111.01 on Cruise Control in Category B, with four faults and a cumulative time of 111.57 on Up Up & Away in Category C.

Those two wins mean Bardgett just missed out on clean sweep but she is aware of the level of competition she faces as she waits to see how her performances fare against the rest of the world.

“I didn’t go into the competition with any expectations,” she said. “Although a clean sweep would always be nice, there’s a lot of talented horses and riders on the island. I’m pleased with the performance of each of the horses.

“World Jumping Challenge courses are very technical and there a lot of new horse-rider combinations in Bermuda this year so it’s very hard to predict. The World Jumping Challenge runs through the end of 2025 so we will just have to wait and see how Bermuda fared against other participating countries.”

Bermuda’s riders will discover their final positions in the World Jumping Challenge early next year as competing countries have until December 31 to conclude their events, with the competition allowing riders to compete internationally without having to leave their own country.