DON’T look now, but it appears the future of Philippine equestrian is here in 12-year-old Nicole Camcam.
Many-time equestrian champion and veteran internationalist Toni Leviste made this prediction for Camcam.
“For a 12 year old, she is very dedicated to her sport, something I do not see among young people of today who are involved in sports. Equestrain training is difficult, needs a lot of patience, but Nicole does everything. She knows what she needs to do to get better and I guess it comes from her love for horses. Definitely, I will be very happy when she succeeds in the future,” said Leviste, who has taken Camcam under her wings and trains her at her horse ranch in Lipa City.
This young rider has also seen action abroad and joined a competition in Wellington, Florida for junior riders last December, when she finished second of 20 riders in her second time to compete internationally, with her first time coming earlier in Sweden.
This year, Camcam will be returning to Florida for more competition together with her mentor Leviste.
Locally, Camcam has won Jr. Rider of the Year at the Manila Polo Club and ranks no. 1 there.
She was just seven years old when she got interested in riding horses, but it was three years later that she became more serious about the sport.
“I was just curious. How you can make a horse jump, that was the reason why I went into it as a sport. My idol is Toni and I want to exceed her achievements in the future. I am looking all the way to the Olympics and maybe in 2028, that dream will come true,” Camcam told this writer in Lipa City.
What she finds the most difficult part of the sport is establishing that connection between her and the horse. For this is a sport, where many consider the horse as the real athlete than the rider and Camcam recognizes the need for her to learn to connect with her horses.
Currently, Camcam has four horses.
Camcam, who is very tall for her age, trains six days a week, putting in 4 hours per training session, but still manages to do well in school, where she is an honor student.
This is what Leviste admires in her. And the multi-titled Leviste would love to see her protege succeed her.
Only time will tell what the future holds for this young rider, but from what Camcam shows now, her mentor will not be disappointed, for sure.
