Toni pursues Olympic dream, wins in France

Sydney Games veteran Toni Leviste, aboard seven-year old mare “Batangas Magic,” bested 70 other rivals to top the International Jumping competition in Dinard, France recently.

The victory augured well for Leviste’s bid to gain another crack at the Olympic medal in the 2012 London Games following the Philippines’ dismal campaign in the recent Beijing Olympics, where it came home empty-handed for the third straight Olympiad.

Leviste topped the event for up-and-coming young horses, all future potential Olympic and world champions.

“I believe I have found a ‘perfect partner’ and the best chance at an Olympic medal with Batangas Magic,” said Leviste of her mount, her partner the last two years.

“In the aftermath of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it is clear that for our athletes to have a fighting chance at bringing honor to our nation, we must dedicate ourselves in pursuit of Olympic glory,” Leviste said.

“My only passion in life is the pursuit of an Olympic gold medal for our country,” said Leviste. “Whether or not I’ll ever achieve this, is a dream I will continue striving for.”

According to Philippine Equestrian’s Chef d Equip, Rep. Carissa Coscolluela, “equestrian may be unknown to most Filipinos, but it is a sport where Filipinos have historically excelled in from Mikee Jaworski’s gold medal win at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and the RP team, composed of Juan Ramon Lanza, Joker Arroyo, Mikee Jaworski and Leviste’s gold medal finish at the 2005 Manila SEA Games. Furthermore, in the history of the Olympic Games, only two people from Southeast Asia have ever qualified to participate in the Olympics – Denise Cojuangco in Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996) and Leviste in Sydney (2000), both Filipino riders.”