Sky’s the limit for equestrian Eva Levy

Fresh off her RJRGLEANER Sports Foundation award for Equestrian Athlete of the Year, rising Jamaican sensation Eva Levy says she aiming to compete at the highest level in the near future.

The 17-year-old, who attended Friday’s award ceremony accompanied by her uncle, Christopher Levy, said that horse riding is in her blood and explained that she fell in love with the sport after watching her younger sister, Sydney Levy, compete.

“Well it started when I was in sixth grade, so I was about 11 years old and I had done other sports before. I actually was watching my sister ride. She started riding before me. Sydney is her name. I decided to try it one day, and now I’ve been riding for six and a half, seven years,” she said.

“It’s a family thing, My aunt Amanda, she used to ride horses in her early 20s. My dad, Stephen Levy, used to ride a little bit, and it kind of just travelled down through the family, I guess. My sister and I love it, and my cousins also love riding.”

Levy made history last year when she became the first Jamaican to win at the Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival, Florida, in the CDIY Young Rider’s Freestyle competition.

As she heard the Jamaican National Anthem being played while she sat atop her horse, Levy said it was a proud moment for her and her horse, Drisdal’s Co-Co Chanel, to have etched their names in history.

“The main highlight was definitely winning the freestyle and getting to hear the Jamaican National Anthem, and I was so proud of my horse and I for really stepping up and performing together as a team. It was really special because we’ve never heard it before at the Wellington circuit, and it was very special, and I was very honoured that it was me that was able to have it played for the first time.”

Levy has lofty ambitions for the future. She aims to compete at the Olympic Games for Jamaica and is being trained under the watchful of eyes of veteran Australian Olympian Kelly Layne.

Under Layne’s guidance, Levy said that she has seen massive improvement in her training and believes that with time and a strong partnership with her horse, she will be competing at the highest level.

“I am very excited for what the future holds for Jamaican equestrian and how it can grow over time. The top goal is to compete at the Olympics for Jamaica at the Grand Prix level and do it to the best of my ability. My trainer’s name is Kelly Layne, an Australian Olympian, and it’s really just gotten so much better the past few years that I’ve been with her.

“The training starts every day with us putting the horses first no matter what. We have our accomplishments and goals that we have as riders, but the horses always come first and the horsemanship must always be evident. Once the horses are put first, we’ll do the training based on them and how we as riders can get better, and our partnership just grows from there, stepping up the level until we get to the Grand Prix.”