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The GOYS Showjumping Championship held at the Mounted Police Centre grounds in Budaiya provided outstanding riding over the whole two-day event.
The adult competitions were held on Friday with the juniors having their events on Saturday. To see the full placings log on to www.equestrianbahrain.com
WINNERS
Senior C class: Ali Essa Ali Jawad riding Al Khalidiah Senora
Senior B class: Sami Mohammed Ghazwan riding Chilli
Senior B+ class: Juan Fernandez De Mesa riding Iman De Olid
Senior A Grand Prix: Ali Essa Ali Jawad riding Al Khalidiah Aberdeen Road
Ali Essa rode brilliantly and was the only rider to complete the course with no faults.
Junior C class: Abdulkarim Chena riding Wansharees
Junior B class: Oscar Lauri riding Emily
Junior A class: Sophie Appleton riding AlKhalidiah Femore
The next Breef Show Jumping event is scheduled for April 16.
Mohammed Dadulla invited riders to join him on Friday after the Grand Prix Class to a talk on how to walk and ride the course.
It provided a fantastic opportunity for enthusiasts to benefit from his years of experience as a course designer and judge.
Course designing and building is an extremely technical and intricate job and the talk offered an interesting insight into just how hard it is to get it right.
One of the most important aspects when walking a course is the count. Trainers and riders will count strides in between fences, and one of the predominant parts of the discussion was the correct way to count these strides, and to assess correctly the striding between fences.
Mohammed explained why certain types of fences were used in order to structure the course in a correct and rider-friendly way, the combination of upright fences and the use of oxers (or widespread fences).
The courses also have to be built specifically for the ability of the riders/horses being tested. Then, on a competition day such as Friday, when there are some five classes from beginner to expert, the course technicians can't change the arena completely so the jumps have to be placed so they are multi-functional, being used for all the classes but in different directions and combinations.
Grand Prix rider Benny Diricx spoke about his riding techniques and how he assessed the route on a course.
The talk certainly achieved its aim of giving riders an invaluable inside knowledge of how to walk the course correctly, counting the strides and so understanding the requirements of the fences and planning a preferred route.
Everyone thanked Mohammed for his time.
