Riders turn up the heat

Twin Palms Riding Centre (TPRC) held the second of its 2012 combination competitions on Saturday, with both show jumping and dressage the order of the afternoon.
 
The TPRC In-House League is an accumulative event, based on a horse/rider combination, though there are no restrictions as to how many horses a rider can enter on.

The league is split into three categories – Junior A for those up to and including 12, Junior B for those aged 13-18 and the adult category.

All riders and horses are automatically entered into the Best Turned Out class, which has seen the standard of attire both for horse and rider shoot through the sky with numerous inventive ways of impressing the judges. For example, gold glitter in the tail was one extra addition, which was, perhaps, the reason Nina Owen and Otto stole that class from under everyone’s noses. The immaculate pair had gone just that extra mile. It is these little touches that get you noticed and, when there are 10 points to be gained, it’s certainly worth the effort.

Whilst Nina/Otto won the adults class, all those competing looked amazing, which made judging very difficult!
In the Junior B section, Anina Bernhardt took the accolade and in the Junior A category, it was newcomer Safiya Al Mahmood who came in joint first place with Luna Dreyer - their respective mounts Apollo & MissPrint groomed to perfection.
 
All the classes started simultaneously and was run over three different arenas, so riders needed to be on their toes to know where they had to be at any one time. This method works well, keeping minds occupied and nerves to the minimum.

The clear round kicked off the jumping section, while the Working Equitation A commenced in another arena, with Preliminary B setting the pace in the third arena.

Clear rounds were the order of the day for Manon Cote riding her super-talented Sirocco. They gained their third clear round and so are no longer able to enter this class for points.
 
Melinda Cranage beautifully steered Eid around for her clear round, with an immaculate round from Maggie Andersson astride Banjo. Debbie Kamal started her afternoon off with the first of her rosettes, and for Lesley Taylor a brilliant round with Bailey provided her first clear round and it certainly looks like many more will follow.

In the Working Equitation classes youngsters took to the fore, for A it was young Jameila Haseid who claimed victory with the lovely Eid and Lucy Lunt Bell rode Rakard into podium position in the B class.

Andersson, riding her beloved Banjo, claimed the first of their prizes in the clear round and the pair went on to win both the Preliminary A and B classes. However, now that Maggie has adorned her walls with red rosettes she must move up into the Novice class for the next show. The riders in Novice will need to lift their game with this determined lady now in their mist.

In order to keep the afternoon running smoothly, the jumping classes staged a jump-off a little differently. If horse and rider cleared the first part of the course, they were given a minute to compose themselves, before going into the jump-off.

In addition to the clear round there were another two show jumping classes, of one round each, and, if clear, immediately into the jump-off.

Debbie Kamal, another determined lady with her super steed Aztec, concentrated on the jumping side of the event. Another triple winner of the day, Debbie claimed her clear round rosette, before proceeding to claim fourth prize in the second class, after a brilliant jump-off and rounded off by winning the final class of the afternoon.

Whilst the show jumping continued, the dressage was drawing to a close with the Novice and Elementary classes. Novice was won for the second consecutive time by Yvonne Addison astride The Chief. Although this was only her second show, her wins now put her firmly in the top section of the league table. The wonderful Loki then pulled out all the stops to perform an almost perfect Elementary test giving us (that’s me!) first place.
 
After the dressage, several riders moved to the show jumping which was still in progress. There was no beating Stephane Dreyer with Angel in the second class, but an unlucky knock in the final class kept the pair off the podium.

These extremely competitive events are thoroughly enjoyed by all participants and, of course, the spectators who are able to see both show jumping and dressage in one afternoon.

Everyone is looking forward to the next combination event on January 27.  The show will start at 10am. All spectators are welcome.

For any further information, contact TPRC on 39566809.

Results

Dressage
Working Equitation A: 1st Jamiela Haseid / Eid
Working Equitation B: 1st Lucy Lunt Bell /Rakard
Preliminary A: 1st Maggie Andersson / Banjo, 2nd Nina Owen / Otto, 3rd Manon Cote / Sirocco.
Preliminary B: 1st Maggie Andersson / Banjo, 2nd Nina Owen / Otto, 3rd Baris Ural / Prince.
Novice: 1st Yvonne Addison / The Chief, 2nd Helen Blake / Loki, 3rd Lucy Lunt Bell / Rakard.
Elementary: 1st Helen Blake / Loki, 2nd Yvonne Addison / The Chief, 3rd Idrak Alaquel / Ecco.

Show Jumping
Class 2 (One round with jump-off – 70/80cms): 1st Stephane Dreyer / Angel, 2nd Idrak Alaquel / Ecco, 3rd Helen Blake / Loki.
Class 3 (One round with jump-off – 90/100cms): 1st Debbie Kamal /Aztec, 2nd Helen Blake / Loki, 3rd Manon Cote / Sirocco.

Twin Palms Riding Centre In-House Combination League standings
Junior A (up to 12yrs): 1st Luna Dreyer & MissPrint (45 points), 2nd Paula Canseco & India (22), 3rd WeiLing Morris & Bling (21).
Junior B (13 to 18yrs): 1st Lucy Lunt Bell & Rakard (47), 2nd Manon Cote & Sirocco (40), 3rd Anina Bernhardt & Onyx (32).
Adults (over 18): 1st Idrak Al Aquel & Ecco (57), 2nd Helen Blake & Loki (47), 3rd Jan Hodgson & Cash  (42).

Full league results on the Twin Palms website.

Diary Dates

SHAKHOORA Riding Stables and The Dilmun Stables will be hosting show jumping events on Friday. Shakhoora’s show is a league event, while the Dilmun’s is a special one, inspired by Lisa Powick who has returned from shores afar with her very own Eliminator Event.