Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Is it Wednesday already? Goodness, the week goes quickly! You will remember from last week's column that Twin Palms held a show on Friday for junior riders.
The day was, as promised, a fun-filled one. Beginning at 9am sharp, it opened with the Treasure Hunt class, one that had riders thinking like Sherlock Holmes in an attempt to try and figure out which fence might have the highest number of points allocated to it.
Yes, fences were secretly allocated numbers and riders attempted to guess which ones might score them the most points. Young Lucy Bell and Yogi secured themselves first place with Rania Hanbali and Bingo taking second and Luke Addison on Santa taking third place. A big well done to Luke, as this was his first-ever show, obviously a natural!
It was, of course, the horse and hound that followed. Riders, mounts, runners and hounds raced against one another for the fastest time over a course of seven fences. On the sound of the starting bell riders raced from the box and sped over seven fences, through the finish line and back into the starting box.
Runners and hounds then took off at lightning speed to jump the same seven fences. Always a class that get the spectators cheering, it was brilliant fun for all involved. Defending champions Helen Blake on Dakota with runner Shaun and hound Odi were back to prove that they still had the quickest legs and paws on the island. The team took first place with a display of incredibly tight turns from rider Helen and some equally tight and fast manoeuvres from Shaun and Odi.
In second place was Anki Holmstrom on Fine Art and Anne Koheji with hound Lucky, another team that showed off their talent for quick turns and super fast running. Third place went to Megan Smith on Porscha and Kevin Alder with hound Spike.
Just when spectators thought it was safe to relax, the pairs class had them jumping on the spot and cheering. As the name suggests, riders paired up to jump a total of eight fences in the quickest time, leaving no more than one fence between them.
Jockeys rode as though they were in the steeple chase and horses and ponies turned on a six pence, amazing and such fun. Pair Suzie Pope on Aztec and Megan Smith on Porscha raced to first place (if you had blinked you might have missed them!). Second place went to, equally as daring and supersonic speedsters, Gabriella Scopes on Flicka and Hebe Lanyon on Missprint. Rani Al Rashoodi on Nafa and Kate Addison on The Chief screeched into third place. Phew, what an event!
The third class of the day allowed everyone time to breathe, well, all apart form the rider. Known as Take Your Own Line, riders were expected to jump all eight fences once, in whichever order they liked. Brains a little scrambled from the previous speed events, all who took part did brilliantly and were incredibly creative in designing their own course. Anne Koheji on Fine Art took first place with Hadi Al Afoo on Rikki coming second and Rania Al Rashoodi on Nafa taking third.
As the sun lowered, the day closed with the juniors Chase Me Charlie. The aim of the game, so to speak, was to 'chase' a single pole up the wings until horse and rider who jumped the tallest without knocking it down, claimed the title. This is always a class that has everybody on the edge of their seats or hopping on the spot with anticipation. The winner was Rania Al Rashoodi and Nafa who cleared 1.4 metres with Hadi Al Afoo on Rikki taking second place.
A brilliant day for all involved and a big thank you to Anki, Yvonne and Helen for all their planning and organisation and to judges Sharon and Angie, who made the day all the more fun with their commentating.
Don't forget, there is a show at Twin Palms this Friday at 9am. The event is open to both Juniors and Adults and promises, as always, to be a fantastic day. Sponsors are the Al Wardi Group, Kanoo Vehicle Leasing and Charles Russell, all of whom continue to show great support for the stable and the sport.
So, another week has flown by and we are once again heading towards a weekend full of fabulous riding. I hope to see you all at Twin Palms on Friday!
