EIGHTEEN of Bermuda's senior and junior riders are set to compete in the annual FEI World Dressage Challenge on Tuesday at the National Equestrian Centre at Vesey Street.

Bermuda will be up against riders in the World Group 10 which includes Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad, Barbados and Antigua.

Last year Jackie Scott on Just Cruisin' and Jennifer Howard on Escudero topped the Bermudian riders' results in the Adult and Children's division respectively. And Howard went on to win the competition in the World Children's division.

Scott will return to compete in the Advanced Test A and will be joined by Kristina Gibbons on Welcome Shadow in that division.

Riders competing in the Adult Preliminary division will be Kate Howarth on Woodgate, Mallary Kelton on Heart of Gold and Chalsey Roberts on Solo Crusader.

A large number of riders will compete in the Novice Test B division. They include Melissa Pereech on Sambuca, Virginia McKey on Pirouette, Anna Franklin on Worth Avenue, Lisa Dolan on Reverie, Sophie Kleinschmidt on Bismark, Gina Flood on Soft Spoken, Nick DeCosta on Touch the Sky, Michael Rodrigues on Montreal Nuit and Paula George on Wiriana while those in the Children's Test will be Christine Terceira on Welcome Shadow, Marlena Tucker on Black Tie Affair and Nicole Davis on Don Giovanni.

Paula George on Beach Boy will be the sole rider in the Prix St.George class.

The international judges will be Kathy Amos Jacob from France and Victoire Mandl from Austria.The judges will fly to every country to oversee the competition.

This year sees the Challenge entering its 25th year of existence. This project seeks to promote and expand horse-riding skills in developing countries throughout the world. And it has become bigger and bigger. In 1982 there were 16 countries competing and by 1996 there were riders from 42 countries competing. Last year riders from 52 countries competed.

The major objectives of this competition is to give the less experienced dressage riders, who under normal circumstances, cannot take part in international dressage competitions, in the more remote countries of the world, the opportunity to compete internationally without having to leave their own country.

Also the competition aims to promote the new generation. Last year, 235 children from 47 countries competed in the Challenge.The competition starts at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Vesey Street and the public is welcome to come and watch Bermuda's riders and horses go through their paces.