compete in the glittering show jumping classes this weekend in Equefest 1994 at the Botanical Gardens.

Joe Fargis and Jeffery Welles of the US, Herve Godignon of France, Eric Lamaze of Canada and Malcolm Pyrah of England will ride on horses loaned to them during the two-day event which takes place on Saturday and Sunday.

The talented riders will be the focal point of this year's Equefest, but there will be a wide range of activities involving local riders during the competition.

Four classes will compete each day beginning with pony jumping on Saturday and culminating with the Grand Prix on Sunday at 2.30 p.m.

Also, there will be a Dressage pas-de-deux each day by Kristy Anderson and Phyllis Harshaw, two local riders who represented Bermuda at the Third World Equestrian Games for Disabled Riders in England this summer.

A demonstration will also be given by well-known Dutchman Joop Stokkel, a one-time champion swimmer who lost his right arm and left leg in an accident when he was just seven years old.

Fargis, from Southampton, Long Island, is an Olympian who won gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and silver at Seoul in 1988. He also won gold at the 1975 Pan Am Games in Mexico City.

Equefest will mark the second time Fargis has competed here, coming off a strong showing in the 1993 Bermuda Classic Show-Jumping competition.

Welles, a resident of Connecticut, boasts an impressive string of achievements. With seven Nations Cup appearances to his credit, Welles has 15 career wins, including the Pennsylvania National Horse Show (1983, 1986), the Grand Prix of New York (1992) and the Grand Prix of Devon (1994).

France's Godignon won his first Grand Prix in 1976 and, while riding with the French team, captured silver and bronze medals at the European championships in 1993. At the 1992 Olympics, Godignon's team won bronze although he placed 44th individually.

Lamaze, from Montreal, represented the Canadian Equestrian team for the first time in 1993 at Washington's International Horse Show.

Since then he has participated four times during Nations Cup competitions and in September posted the only double clean round for the Canadian team.

The year has been a banner one for Lamaze, finishing first at the Shell Cup Derby, Crown Royal Classic Grand Prix and Friendship Festival Grand Prix.

He also represented Canada at the World Equestrian Games in Holland.

Pyrah has participated in 76 Nations Cups from 1972 to 1988. A native of Nottingham, England, he won a World's gold medal with his team in Germany in 1978 and was a member of the European gold medal team in 1979.

He also took part in the Seoul Games and is now on the executive committee of the British Show Jumping Association, the Junior and Senior International Team Selection Committee and chef d'equipe and trainer of England's under 21 show jumping team.

This weekend will also see equestrian activities at noon each day (complete schedule on page 26) followed by a demonstration by the Bermuda Gymnastics Association.

All proceeds will go toward Council Partners, the Bermuda Equestrian Federation and The Reading Clinic.