Well-deserved awards

The gymkhana was followed by a presentation evening for the Twin Palms Riding Centre in-house league 2011-12, sponsored by Al Hoty Analytical Services. The company sent two representatives to present the prizes, general manager Masood Khatib and services manager Jawad Gahloom. 

It was a lovely evening, and as well as the winners who I have listed, left, being awarded their prizes, there were a few surprises.

Anki had decided to also award trophies for the most improved riders in each category, which was lovely. In the Junior A category it went to Luna Dreyer, who has excelled herself this season. Even when disaster struck and she lost her beloved Missprint she bravely continued in the league on Red. The pair have come on together fantastically and deserve all their rewards.

For the Junior B category, Manon Cote took the accolade. This season has seen Manon and Sirocco move forward in leaps and bounds, the pair excel in show jumping and have gone from the 70cm fences at the start of the season to jumping in all the big classes now. Huge fences have not fazed either of them – Manon’s mother is a different matter! During this season we have seen Manon and Sirocco grow together. This is one awesome pair I predict will be future champions.

For the Adult Section a well-deserved win went to Baris Ural and Prince. This pairing has gone from strength-to-strength this year. Baris has worked incredibly hard with his riding, and his sheer determination has shone through. The horse performs beautifully for him, but it is down to Baris and the work and effort he puts in. They started slowly but have risen steadily in both performance and confidence as the season progressed.

There also another special award for the rider with the best attitude.

This was going to be awarded to the person who was always cheerful, no matter what, who always had a go even if the challenge was out of their comfort zone, or not really what they wanted to do. It was the person who was always willing to help whatever the occasion – a show, a camp or just in general, someone that was nice to everyone – old, young, horse, dog, whatever.   

Anki was looking for that person that always goes the extra bit further – not the extra mile on occasion but the extra yard consistently, and she found this person in Mariella Forward. Mariella has excelled herself this season; she is a lovely young lady, and everyone agreed wholeheartedly with this choice.

I would like to add that in my opinion everyone at Twin Palms is always willing to lend a helping hand. 

This was also recognised during the evening, as there were gifts for all those who helped during the season such as Dee Long, Lorna Owen and Carrie Lunt Bell, to name but a few, and then there were the fabulous judges who had come along to events and given up their time and effort at weekends, such as Carina Abdulrahman, Esther Ghuloom, Majella Kettle, Liz Sinclair, Britta Tappendorf, again to name but a few. 
 
A special ‘thank you’ went to our commentator extraordinaire Pam Kamal, her work over the season has been fabulous. Thanks were also conveyed to the centre’s team that works tirelessly in its endeavours to ensure that all events run smoothly, namely Sharon Henry, Yvonne Addison, Maggie Andersson ... and I help a bit here and there! Of course, none of it would be possible without Anki who herself works like a Trojan, and is certainly a mentor to so many riders.
So to Anki, from all at Twin Palms Riding Centre, thank you … we are all looking forward to next season.

Results
Junior A Winners:
1 Luna Dreyer / Missprint; 2 Jamiela Haseid / Eid; 3 Paula Canseco / India; 4 Luna Dreyer / Red; 5 Paula Canseco / Aramis; 6 Bella Rushton / Toy Boy.

Junior B Winners:
1 Lucy Lunt Bell / Rakard; 2 Manon Cote / Sirocco; 3 Anina Bernhardt / Onyx; 4 Mariella Forward / Dollar; 5 Rania Hanbali / Bingo; 6 Kate Addison / The Chief.

Adult Winners:
1 Helen Blake / Loki ; 2 Idraq Alaquel / Ecco; 3 Nina Owen / Otto; 4 Virginie Dreyer / Athos; 5 Maggie Andersson / Banjo; 6 Lydia Martin / Woody; 7 Yvonne Addison / The Chief.

Most Improved Riders:
Junior A:  Luna Dreyer
Junior B: Manon Cote
Adult: Baris Ural

Most Improved Bahraini Rider: Sayeed Moh’d Al Alawi
Rider with the Best Attitude: Mariella Forward