There will be an unprecedented three equestrians representing Bermuda at this July’s Pan-Am Games in Brazil after dressage specialist Annabelle Collins met the qualifying standard at a major show in Europe earlier this month.

The Barcelona-based Bermudian exceeded the 64 percent mark needed to book her place in Rio de Janeiro during the Sunshine Tour in southern Spain — a famous three-week show which attracts some of the best riders in Europe from all disciplines.

Collins, who was riding her gifted 10-year-old German stallion, Medici, joins Patrick Nesbett and Jill Terceira who have already qualified — and it is understood that US-based dressage rider Chris Taylor is still attempting to reach the required standard before the June deadline.

Meanwhile, despite rumours to the contrary, it looks as if Annabelle’s brother Tim Collins will not be competing in Rio after the former Olympic three-day eventer only recently converted to show jumping.

He is reportedly still finding his feet in the new discipline at his base in Holland and is not expected to be ready in time for this summer’s games.

But with her brother commanding the lion’s share of the headlines over the last few years, Collins is now relishing the opportunity to display her own talents.

“Qualifying for the Pan-Am Games is something that I’ve been building towards for some time, so to finally get there is a great feeling,” she said yesterday.

“I’m glad I made the qualifying standard, but to be honest there’s always room for improvement and I know that with more work the marks can get better.

“The Games are in July, so around May I’ll be heading to Holland for two months of training with Leida (her brother’s wife, who is herself one of the world’s top dressage riders) and hopefully by the end of that I’ll be in a position to be very competitive.”

Asked whether she had any aspirations of making it through to the Beijing Olympics next summer, Collins said that while representing the Island at the Olympics remained a priority for her, the upcoming Games might just come a little too soon.

“It’s definitely something I’ve thought about, but I’m not sure whether I’m quite ready for it yet,” she said.

“The Pan-Am Games is the level below Olympic standard and if I want to step up to the big stage it’s going to be hard to qualify in time.

“But we’ll have to see. The Olympics is definitely something I’ve got my eye on, but it’s a very big jump in standard.”