The wet weather last weekend failed to put a damper on the spirits of Bermuda’s equestrian riders, who benefited from a string of clinics by top US coaches.

Wendy Arndt, who runs International Equestrian Connection, and Ken Whelihan, assistant director of riding and senior trainer at Ethel Walker School in Connecticut, travelled to the island to coach riders of all ages, with only a few clinics cancelled due to to strong winds and heavy rain.

Arndt, though, is used to an outdoor way of life and her positive energy is consistent come rain or shine.

“We never know what to expect with the weather anywhere we go, but it’s an outdoor sport and even though I might be disappointed with the weather and the thought that I am going to get soaking wet, my thought is that if I carry that energy into the lesson and have a good attitude then the athletes will as well,” Arndt said.

“I think that rolled over into the clinics this weekend as we had some absolute doers out in the rain and mud.”

Arndt is Bermuda’s unofficial national equestrian coach and has been coming to the island for more than four decades, with her first visit at the age of 16. Now aged 60, she has helped riders from around the world access her bootcamps in the United States and there is always a Bermudian or two in one of her programmes.

“I’m from the US but I’m very international,” Arndt said.

“We have kids from Russia, Lithuania, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and South America in my programme. Bermuda has been a big part because there are so many kids here involved in equestrian activities.

“I’m helping to keep that alive because it’s an important sport here and it helps to develop people with responsibility, but at this point in my life, I’m trying to make sure it’s available to everybody.

“Sometimes people think Bermuda is just this rich island with rich people but it’s not. There are a lot of working people who would like their kids to have this opportunity and Michael Rodrigues and Mary Francis have been implementing a young riders development programme and I am now injecting myself into that.

“This last weekend was about that and exposing them to another school, to Ethel Walker, and let them know it was not only an equestrian school but an academic one.

“Ethel Walker paid for Ken, who is a very good friend of mine, to be here and I donated my clinic time, which would have been about $4,000 for Saturday and Sunday.

“I paid my own air fare here and we put together a fundraiser that probably raised that much for the BEA. Many people may see us coaches coming from abroad and think we are deriving an income from the island, but it’s important to realise we are here to help out.”

Arndt and Whelihan provide a pathway for Bermuda’s young riders to keep showcasing their skills all the way through college and Cody Rego and Julia Slade are just a couple of Bermuda’s talented youngsters to have made their way through the programme.

“The journey would be they start as little children, I teach them here, they come to the States, they do my bootcamp and live on my farm,” Arndt said.

“Their screen time is limited to nothing, not because we force them but because they are really not interested anymore and it forces them to be with the horse and invest in their passion.

“There is always a show aspect involved and the best thing is when these guys go off to school they remain tapped in.

“In Julia’s case she went to Ethel Walker and had a really successful academic career. She’s now going to Chapel Hill and she flies in for a weekend to participate in some lessons or a show. The thing I like about that is that they don’t just disappear, it’s not the end of their interest. If they are passionate they can stay involved even if academics is the priority.”

Rego, Annabelle Collins and Slade have shown that there is the ability in Bermuda that can transfer on to the biggest stage and Arndt believes the opportunity to represent the island internationally must be grasped.

“There is a tremendous amount of natural talent on this island and the kids that are a little mechanical, after this boot camp they become more natural,” Arndt said.

“I’m really passionate about giving these kids goals. If they have to go to the States, or England to have the support to reach the top ,great, but represent your own country and honestly it will be easier to get on the Bermuda team than it would be on the US team.

"My goal is that anybody talented in Bermuda gets the chance to express that in the States.“