A great show of support

THERE was a flurry of entertainment for the equestrian community at the weekend as Twin Palms Riding Centre held its Fun Fundraising Event, Breef held the second Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa Jumping Challenge at the BDF ground in Sakir and rounded off with the second Breef Dressage Challenge.

More than BD2,000 was raised on Friday at Twin Palms in memory of Chrissie Parker who recently lost her long battle with cancer. It will be donated for research into the disease as requested by her family.

No one could have anticipated the overwhelming demonstration of support this show would generate; everybody involved gave something to this day, there were prizes galore donated by friends and family – from international companies to individuals. 

All the show jumping classes had prizes donated by Huda Janahi of Horse Pride and June Al Saffar of Things To Do. There was the fabulous cake stall manned by Twin Palms’s own super baker Nina Owen, ably assisted by Ellie Henry.

Behind the scenes, Yvonne Addison was ably assisted by Sharon Henry pulling out all the stops and Pam Kamal, Twin Palms resident compere and judge, did an outstanding job with the auction for a lovely Bates saddle donated by Jerri Taylor. Pam got the crowd into a bidding frenzy and the saddle eventually sold for a fabulous BD365.

Anki Holmstrom not only hosted and supported the event but also devised the clever and entertaining classes.

The show jumping started with a Ride and Drive Class where horse and rider had to negotiate the course, then the rider had to dismount as quickly as possible jump into a wheelbarrow where the dedicated ‘driver’  had to then zig-zag through a barrel slalom. 

With over 20 entries the first to go was Mariella Forward riding Soda who set the standard and the pace in a time of 58.49 seconds. They held their lead until veteran Anne Koheji used all her experience to pip the pair with the talented Fine Art in a time of 53.82s.

The second class was a team relay and the Pairs challenge followed. Only eight pairs went clear and taking home the red rosettes were Lydia Martin riding Woody  and yours truly riding Loki.

A clear round class followed after which it was off to the coffee shop for a sumptuous BBQ and to wind down after the morning’s activities.

A huge ‘Thank You’ to everybody for their awe-inspiring support.

Results
Class 1 – Ride & Drive: 1 Anne Koheji/ Fine Art, 2 Mariella Forward/ Soda, 3 Rania Hanbali/ Murphy, 4 Stephane Dreyer/ Calypso, 5 Kat Rushton/ Athos, 6 Debbie Kamal/ Dollar.

Class 2 – Team Relay: 1 Rania AlRashoodi/ Nafa, Rania Hanbali/ Bingo, Kate Addison/ The Chief; 2 Lesley Taylor/ Bailey, Ahmed/ Chico, Bassim Mahdi/ Lucy; 3 Debbie Kamal/ Dollar, Anne Koheji/ Fine Art, Bassim Mahdi/ Lucy, 4 Idrak AlAquel/ Bling, Rania AlRashoodi/ Nafa, Rania Hanbali/ Bingo; 5 Debbie Kamal/ Dollar, Genevive Joyce/ Tornado, Jerri Taylor/ Airforce One; 6 Mariella Forward/ Soda, Anina Bernhardt/ Banjo, Manon Cote/ Sirocco.

Class 3 – Pairs: 1 Lydia Martin/ Woody, Helen Blake/ Loki; 2 Maud Tinsley/ Rio, Aimee Keen/ Billy; 3 Anina Bernhardt/ Banjo, Rania Hanbali/ Murphy; 4 Ahmed Akbar/ Jendool, Tayseer Dweik/ Shumar; 5 Abbas Ghuraifi/ Undoctaro, Chantelle Gromm/ Show Off; 6 Stephane Dreyer/ Calypso, Luna Dreyer/ Red.

Class 4 – Bareback Jumping: 1 Ahmed Akbar/ Jendool, 2 Kate Addison/ The Chief, 3 Tayseer Dweik/ Shumar, 4 Abbas Ghuraifi/ Champagne, 5 Aimee Keen/ Rio, 6 Abbas Ghuraifi/ Undoctaro.

DIARY DATES
*Shakhoora Riding Centre will host its inaugural show jumping competition on Friday. It will consist of the following classes:

Class 1 – Clear round for green horse/rider adult and juniors – fences 60/80cm.
Rosette for clear round.

Class 2 Junior 1 – One round with jump off – fences 80/90cm – placing to 6th.

Class 3 Adult 1 – One round with jump off  – fences 80/90cm – placing to 6th

Classes 2 & 3 will run at the same time.

Class 4 Junior 2 – Power and Speed class – fences 90/105cm – placings to 6th

Class 5 Adult 2 – Power and Speed class – fences 90/105cm – placings to 6th

Classes 4 & 5 will be run at the same time.

Class 6 Adult 3 – Accumulator with Joker class – fences 110/120cm – placings to 6th.

Entries must reach Shakhoora Riding Centre (17591103) by 6pm today – email: jorveyp@yahoo.com with a contact mobile number.

*Genevive Joyce, an equine osteopath and remedial sports massage therapist is still here and available for treatments until March 19. Contact Jerri Taylor on 33309972 to book an appointment.

*Ian Wright an international Show Jumping and Dressage trainer will be back in Bahrain on Friday and will be available for lessons. Contact 39087724 or email Twin.Palms.Riding.Centre@hotmail.com

Results

BREEF Show Jumping
Class 1: 1 Muslim Ali/ Emiley, 2 Basil Al Dosari/ Little Dude, 3 Mohammed Jassim/ Cooler, 4 Abdulla Faisal/ Out of Quiet Pride, 5 Hassan Jaffer/ Flame, 6 Nada Abdul Qhari/ Dubai Dancer.

Class 2: 1 Muslim Ali/ Emiley, 2 Ali Essa/ Landcorder, 3 Adnan Al Alawi/ Mikaela, 4 Benny Dirix/ Havana, 5 Basil Al Dosari/ Granius, 6 Hassan Jaffer/ Mashaalla.

Class 3: 1 Khalid Hilal Al Khatiri/ Bashayher, 2 Ali Essa/ Aberdeen Road, 3 Benny Dirix/ Vivica, 4 Hamad Fakhrawi/ Calichco, 5 Ali Essa/ Landcorder, 6 Benny Dirix/ Casillas.

BREEF Dressage Championship
Introductory Junior: 1 Hussain Dadulla/ Murheeb, 2 Manon Cote/ Sirocco, 3 Bella Rushton/ Bling, 4 Hussain Dadulla/ Super Million, 5 Luna Dreyer/ Calypso.

Preliminary Junior: 1 Kate Addison/ Banjo, 2 Anina Bernhardt/ Onyx, 3 Aimee Keen/ Rio, 4 Kate Addison/ Athos, 5 Manon Cote/ Sirocco, 6 Mariella Forward/ Mandella.

Novice Junior: 1 Kate Addison/ Westwind, 2 Rania Hanbali/ Bingo, 3 Kate Addison/ The Chief, 4 Lucy Lunt Bell/ Rakard, 5 Lucy Lunt Bell/ Breeze, 6  Mariella Forward/ Mandella.

Introductory Adult: 1 Ahmed Akbar/ Pride, 2 Elyas Mohamed/ Gayth, 3 Ahmed Akbar/ Smokey, 4 A Majeed Ghulam/ Murheeb, 5 Elyas Mohamed/ Barood, 6 Yaser Al Marki/ Pride.

Novice Adult: 1 Anki Holmstrom/ Bond, 2 Kat Rushton/ Duke, 3 Ahmed Akbar/ Prince, 4 Maggie Andersson/ Banjo, 5 Trish Fryer/ As Good As Gold, 6 Maher Lathfalla/ Loya.