Too Hot To Trot

THE joint Twin Palms Riding Centre (TPRC) and Al Jazeera Stables show jumping competition attracted a huge turnout on Saturday. Uniquely for Bahrain, two arenas were used, with classes being held at both stables simultaneously.

This organisational challenge was pulled off superbly by the stables’ management and teams of volunteer helpers.

Both stables were supported superbly by sponsors and were able to award some fantastic trophies, rosettes and prize money.

An exciting schedule of events was prepared for the competitors starting with clear round show jumping in the TPRC Paddock, a challenging course of 60cm fences that saw only three clears, proving to be a good warm-up for the rest of the day.

Next came the Pairs Jumping, good fun as two horses and riders tried to stay together whilst jumping the course in the fastest possible time. Rania Hambali riding Mandella and Kat Rushton riding Duke took first place in this class with a fast clear round.

Class 3 was a two-phase show jumping event. Those clear over the first eight fences had a jump-off challenge immediately against the clock. Bella Rushton and No Trix were triumphant followed closely by Qassim Abbas and Sedona.

Class 4 was a ‘Take Your Own Line’ where riders had to chose their own way around the fences but had to jump all eight in the fastest possible time, without missing a fence. Adrienne Morrison and Onyx managed the only clear round to take the top spot.

Meanwhile, at Al Jazeera Stables, Class 5 was the first one held in the arena. It was also a clear round challenge with fences at 70cm, but this time with what were called ‘scary fillers’.

This was a real challenge for horses that get a little spooky about strange looking show jumps!

The second class in Al Jazeera, Class 6, was also another two-phase competition, this time with the fences set between 80cm and 100cm. A superb round saw Ali Abdulrasool riding Chilli taking first place with a time of 26.28secs, closely followed by Sara Al Mutawa riding the lovely Emily, in a time of 27.22.

Class 7, and the third class staged at Al Jazeera, was called ‘Related Distances’. The technical challenge set the bar at 90cm to 110cm with either three or five strides between fences.

It had to be ridden accurately and with skill.

This challenging class saw only two clear rounds, with first place being taken by Hussain Dadulla and Rainsong, and second by Basel Al Dossary and Cantachino.

The last class of the day was another ‘Take Your Own Line’ with the fences put up to 115cm.

The first place was hotly contested with Hassan Jaffar riding Zain taking the trophy in an incredibly fast time of 26.55.

Sincere thanks must go to Al Fateh Equestrian Equipment & Feeds, Nonie Coutts Veterinary Surgery, Al Hoty Analytical Services and Tiny OM Jewellery. It is because of these generous sponsors and their support of show jumping in Bahrain that the local stables are able to improve the sport and organise these fabulous local shows.

Results
Class 1 Clear Round
Clear Rounds from:
Erin McClone/ Red
Yara Al Khalifa/ Fine Art
Rania Hanbali/ Mandella

Class 2 Pairs Jumping 60cm
1st Rania Hanbali/ Mandella & Kate Rushton/ Duke
2nd Rania Hanbali/ Bingo and Pippa Fourie/ Guardian
3rd Aimee Keen/ DJ Fleur and Jameela Haseid/ Nafa
4th Maryam Al Khalifa/ The Chief and Imogen Nell/ Mohito
5th Melinda Cranage/ Dollar and Gina Fourie/ Darius
6th Audrey Maingot/ Loki and Imogen Nell/ Onyx

Class 3 Two-Phase 70-80cm
1st Bella Rushton/ No Trix
2nd Qassim Abbas/ Sedona
3rd Elaine Galbraith/ Sirocco
4th Pippa Fourie/ Bingo
5th Kat Rushton/ Duke
6th Mustafa Dadulla/ Murheeb

Class 4 Take Your Own Line
1st Adrienne Morrison/ Onyx
2nd Elaine Galbraith/ Brave Knave
3rd Pippa Fourie/ Guardian
4th Luna Dreyer/ Calypso
5th Elaine Galbraith/ Sirocco
6th Georgia Sim/ Lovely Jubbly

Class 5 Clear Round
Clear Rounds from:
Fiona Halliday/ Liberty Belle
Qassim Abbas/ Sedona
Stephane Dreyer/ Angel
Adrienne Morrison/ Onyx
Maryam Al Khalifa/ The Chief
Audrey Maingot/ Loki

Class 6 Two-Phase 80-100cm
1st Ali Abdulrasool/ Chilli
2nd Sara Al Mutawa/ Emily
3rd Bassim Mehdi/ Estrella
4th Basel Al Dossari/ Jelina JS
5th Lilian Rogers/ Mobiley
6th Fiona Halliday/ Liberty Belle

Class 7 Related Distances
1st Hussain Dadulla/ Rainsong
2nd Basel Al Dosari/ Cantachino
3rd Basel Al Dossari/ Jelina JS
4th Hassan Jaffar/ Zain
5th Ali Abdulrasool/ Chilli
6th Stephane Dreyer/ Angel

Class 8 – Take Your Own Line
1st Hassan Jaffar/ Zain
2nd Bassim Mehdi/ Cassico
3rd Fahad Taqi/ Fear True Bandit
4th Donna Simone/ Cortez
5th Faten Al Naseri/ Airforce One
6th Yahya Ahmed/ I Trust You

***

In the New Year TPRC is looking forward to welcoming Mia Palles-Clark (www.miakorenika.co.uk) to Bahrain. She is a fully-qualified British Show Jumping accredited coach and rider. Lessons and clinics will be available from January 25-31. For more information, call Elaine on 32261337.

Upcoming events

• Twin Palms Riding Centre’s Christmas Gymkhana will be held on Monday at 4pm, costing BD6 per child, including a gift from Santa.
• BREEF will be hosting a show jumping competition at the BDF Equestrian Centre located at Sakhir starting at 9am this Friday. There will be two junior and three adult classes.
• The Dilmun Stables will be conducting its pony camp from December 16-31. Parents can drop off their children for the 10am to noon sessions. The camp will include stable management and pony lessons followed by lunch at the club.
• The Dilmun Stables will also be hosting its annual Eliminator Show Jumping competition on December 18 featuring two classes, a one round 70-80cm speed class and an Eliminator. Those competing in the Eliminator will not be allowed to compete in the speed class. During the Eliminator challenge contestants who jump clear will be allowed to raise a fence of their choice and they will jump until there are no clear rounds. Spectators will see the fences go up to some exciting heights testing the riders and their trusty companions. The competition will start at 9am.