Thrilling action!

Twin Palms Riding Centre (TPRC) held its final in-house Twixstead for this season over the weekend, an event which consists of three disciplines, each of which must be completed.

There were two classes, class A and B, the main differences being that Class A runs a preliminary dressage test while Class B runs a novice dressage test. The show jumping and cross-country fences were also more challenging in Class B.

This is an amazingly fun event, which is clearly enjoyed by competitors and spectators alike. In my opinion the horses and ponies enjoy themselves immensely too and I’m sure if these animals could they would be giving themselves ‘hi fives’ hoof-style!

Claiming victory for the junior section in Class A, was Bella Rushton riding her superstar pony Smudge. The pair took the lead in the dressage and were unstoppable in both show jumping and cross country.

Likewise for Class B, which was a mixed class, Idrak Alquel was back in the saddle astride Ecco and the pair wowed the judges in the dressage. Ecco also performed beautifully in both the show jumping and cross-country.
 
For the adults in Class A, it was Melinda Cranage who proved that getting the best dressage score is not always a certainty to winning Twixstead. Coming up from runner-up position, doing exceptionally well in both the show jumping and dressage, her horse Nafa pulled out all the stops putting the pair into top podium position.

All-in-all, a fantastic event. A huge ‘thank you’ goes out from Anki Holmstrom, proprietor of Twin Palms Riding Centre, to all those involved over the two days.

She added that it was a huge task to coordinate, and all assistance was appreciated, with special thanks to the dressage judge, Carina Abdulrahman.

The event commenced on Thursday with the preliminary dressage test being run for class A. This class was split into junior and adult sections. The first round was excellent, with some lovely dressage being executed.

On Friday morning the dressage for Class B was run in conjunction with the start of the show jumping for Class A.  Fences were then raised for Class B.  The event was being run on penalties, which meant there were no time restrictions in any of the classes. If a competitor had a knockdown, or stop over, either on the show jumping or cross country course, then they were awarded penalty points.
 
The object of the day was to collect as few penalties as possible.

Once the show jumping had finished it was on to the cross country, in the bespoke course that TPRC houses.

As advised last week, Al Maha Riding Centre will be hosting an Open Show Jumping Event on Friday, with a top prize BD120 (cash and vouchers).

There are no entry fees with prize money and vouchers for 1ST to 3rd place with trophies and rosettes for 4th to 6th place.

The event starts at 4.30pm and has three classes.
Class 1 - One round with timed jump off for juniors only fences 70/80cms.
Class 2 – Speed class – Mixed – Fences 85/95cms.
Class 3 – Accumulator with joker – Mixed – Fences 100/105cms Joker 115cms.
l To enter, contact either Hussain Al Sada – 39683660 or Dawood Salman – 33721333 or email: David_4555@hotmail.com
Entries will be handed by the stable directly. The closing date for entries is tomorrow at 6pm.

Results
Class A Juniors:
1st Bella Rushton / Smudge
2nd Manon Cote / Sirocco
3rd Pippa Fourie / Red
4th Rosa O’Neil / Cash
5th Audrey Morrison / Skippy
6th Amani Hussein / Eid

Class A Adults:
1st Melinda Cranage Nafa
2nd Anne Koheji / Hunter
3rd Kia Jarnfelt / Bluey
4th Jacques Riviera / Santa
5th Helen Blake / Wellington

Class B Mixed:
1st Idrak Alaquel / Ecco
2nd Helen Blake/ Loki
3rd (Joint) Gina Fourie / Mohito
and Rania Hanbali / Bingo
5th Mariella Forward / No Trix