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As promised I have news from the Dressage League recently held at Twin Palms. Horses and riders aim not only to win their respective classes each event, but also hope to accumulate enough points to secure themselves a position on the winner's podium.
This in itself makes it a little more exciting each time a league event is held.
The weekend saw the introduction of a new class entitled 'Newcomers' which, as the name suggests opens the competition to 'first timers', welcoming fresh faces and hooves to the league.
Congratulations to Bernie Cote and Sirocco who took first place in this class. The pair rode brilliantly, setting the pace for the day ahead.
The next few classes did not disappoint, providing judges and spectators with some wonderful displays of rider technique and horse athleticism.
The junior preliminary saw some competitive riding from all and it was Aislin Cote on Rakard who took first place, a fine performance from both.
The adult preliminary saw first time pair Helen Blake and Duke stride into first place. Junior rider, Natasha Owen and her mount Dualtime impressed judges not once but twice, securing first place in both the junior novice and mixed elementary. Finally, Magali Reiser and Mr Furious took first in the adult novice, riding an impressive test.
Once again, a great weekend and fine display of horsemanship. The organisers thank all who came to support and all those who helped throughout the day. Oh, and, of course, a big thanks to all horses and riders.
I do hope you are all enjoying your Eid holidays and the cool weather. I shall, of course, be back next week with more exciting horsey events and news. Until then, Eid Mubarak and make sure you visit the Bahrain Royal Endurance and Equestrian Federation (Breef) show jumping grounds this Friday for both junior and adult jumping.
On the endurance riding front, the Breef will be organising the first-ever 120-km Endurance Horseride Grand Prix this week.
The first part of this three-round event will be held on Saturday at Emirates International Endurance Village, Al Wathba in Abu Dhabi while Dubai and Bahrain will host the remaining two rounds for which the dates are yet to be fixed.
The Dubai round will be held at the Dubai International Endurance City in Seih Assalem while the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir will host the Bahrain round.
The first round in Abu Dhabi will coincide with the National Day Cup which is scheduled for the same day.
The 120-km ride, which will be divided into five stages, is expected to attract some of the world's best riders and horses apart from a big contingent from other GCC countries.
Breef president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa announced the event at a Press conference held at the Banyan Tree resort in Sakhir.
"This is a new idea of having Grand Prix endurance races like in the Formula One and it's just a beginning to have two countries hosting three different rounds," said Shaikh Nasser who will also be participating in this prestigious event.
"We are planning to have this championship on an annual basis and hopefully more countries will be included in the future," he added.
The Breef president said the federation will be inviting top officials and riders from all over the world as either participants or guests to witness this year's event.
Shaikh Nasser said the rider to accumulate the highest number of points at the end of three rounds will be crowned overall champion.
"It doesn't matter if you take part in one, two or all three races to win this competition. The idea is to get more points to become the champion," said Shaikh Nasser. "The Grand Prix is open to all riders of all nationalities."
Every rider must weigh 75 kgs or above without riding equipment and must be registered with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).
Shaikh Nasser said Breef decided to organise this championship after it was approved by the FEI last year. "We submitted our proposal to the international federation which agreed to have this kind of event under its umbrella," he said.
Shaikh Nasser thanked the UAE prime minister, vice-president and ruler of Dubai Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his support getting this event underway.
The press conference was attended by Breef second vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Breef general secretary Ghalib Al Alawi, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa's Media Office and Information Centre director Tawfeeq Salehi and other officials.
