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Good Morning readers, another Wednesday and another exciting weekend to report on. Twin Palms held a showjumping event on Friday and what a fantastic day it was. With over 200 entries there was certainly a lot of competition and a lot to watch!
The morning kicked off early with the junior riders firing from all cylinders, despite it only being nine o'clock. The Junior 1 class took place in the main arena and Olivia Braodley and pony Soda rode gracefully to first place, showing fellow riders just how quick they could be so early in the morning. Tagreed Dawani and Smudge came a close second with Lauren Storey and Dilmun Inca placing third.
The top arena played host to the first adult class of the day, the adult green horse and/or rider. As the name suggests the class is open to all first time jumpers, horse or rider. Lydia Auld and Bushiya put in a brilliant effort securing themselves first place with Joanna Maric and Twice as Nice coming second and Maktar Asiry on Sabzi coming third.
The next two classes running parallel to one another were the Junior 3 and Adult Pre Novice. Once again, juniors and their mounts put in a brilliant performance, showing spectators their ability to ride with precision and speed. Jassim Isa and Orbit took first place with Hebe Lanyon on Missprint coming a very close second indeed and Astrid Jespers on Onyx coming third.
The adults, not to be shown up, proved they had just as much talent as our junior competitors. Toufiq Jaber on Loirus came first, Muslim Ali and Dar second, Yahya Ahmed and Maghroor coming third.
As the afternoon crept in and temperatures rose, some spectators took the shade of the famed Twin Palms coffee shop, to rehydrate and fill their tummies with some of the fantastic goodies on sale (I personally loved the chocolate crispy cakes!).
With a perfect vantage spot for the Junior 3, I had my camera at the ready to snap riders as they flew over fences, which is exactly what they did. Andrew Scopes and Porphry flew into first place with Astrid jesper on Onyx, hot on his heels. Shireen Fayez was also in the running for a top spot and placed third on her mount Orbit.
A quick dash across the empty paddock took me to the top arena where I caught the opening of the Adult novice. All riders put in a great effort but as they say, there can only be one winner, which was Muslim Ali on Dar, followed by Ali Isa on Kuwait and finally Toufiq Jaber on Hidalgo. Show organisers were on their toes and within minutes had the course re-numbered, fences heightened and the sand raked ready for the mixed intermediate.
Once again, riders and mounts prepared themselves for some tough competition. Ali Isa on Kuwait raised the bar for fellow riders with his impressive round securing him first place. Sami Ghazwan on Sandos took second with Yahya Ahmed on Zany coming third.
The day rounded off with the Pusissance class (otherwise known as the 'chase me Charlie'). Always a tummy turning event to watch, all competitors have one opportunity to clear the same single fence that is raised by 10cm each time. As the fence rose my nerves were a wreck. However, it was a spectacular class to watch and before going any further, a big congratulations to the two junior riders (Kate Addison on Loki and Rania Al Rashoodi on Nafa) who took part. You were incredibly brave! Out of a total of 15 riders, only two were left to battle it out over one and half metres and it was Mahesh Amritlal on Pascal that took gold, a very big congratulations to him.
So there you have it, yet another fantastic day of riding and I know that I speak for all the riders and spectators when I say a very big thank you to all of the TPRC team who made the show possible and, of course, the day's sponsors, Charles Russell, Al Wardi Transportation and Kanoo Vehicle Leasing for their continued support.
A quick reminder before I leave you for the weekend. Ian Wright is back in Bahrain and there are still a few slots open for his dressage and showjumping clinics. If you would like to book please call Helen Blake on 39087724.
See you on Friday at the GOYS showjumping event in Budaiya (mounted police section).
