Galloping ahead

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I thought I would start off 2013 with some laughs – remember, a laugh is good for the soul, so read on with a smile:
Random quotes:
“I ride horses because it’s the only sport where I can exercise while sitting down”
“Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground”
“How do you catch a loose horse?  Make a noise like a carrot”
“I’ve spent most of my life riding horses. The rest I’ve just wasted!”

I am led to understand that the changing of the year has moved planets and shifted the sands of fate, so let’s hope that the number 13 brings luck, love and happiness to everyone.
Last year has certainly seemed to gallop by … January, saw the island still in the depths of despair over the Glanders situation into its 19th month!

Undeterred, stables maintained their in-house events to keep their riders and horses entertained as well as maintaining levels of competition. The Dilmun Riding Stables, Shakhoora Riding Stables, and Twin Palms Riding Centre all had their in-house leagues in full force as they kicked off January with dressage and show jumping events.

February, took a twist when Twin Palms Riding Centre managed to construct their very own cross country course, and the first Twixstead event was held. A combination of dressage, show jumping and cross country, all entrants have to compete in all disciplines and all classes are held over one day. This proved to be an immediate and unequivocal success. Twin Palms recently held the third of these events with another planned for later in 2013.

Also, the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (BREEF), held a show jumping seminar, a FEI Level 1 for national judges. The course was held over two days, culminating in a written exam, and successful participants received certificates presented by BREEF president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the BDF Equestrian Arena.

March saw Shakhoora Riding Stables host lectures and clinics on riding theory, starting with the basics. Stable owner Samia Al Safar then demonstrated advanced levels of riding, giving participants an insight into correct riding skills and practices.

At the end of March, the kingdom witnessed the amazing beauty of the horses, and the superb skills of the riders of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art from its location in the heart of Jerez de la Frontera a town in the south of Andalusia, the Cadiz province of southern Spain. Accompanying them was renowned equestrian artist and performer Clemenca Faivre and her wonderful bronze Portuguese /Arabian mixed Stallion Gatan, an exceptional horse specialised in performing Haute Ecole exercises – with neither bit nor bridle in total ‘freedom’.

With the Easter holidays in April, many of the stables ran pony camps to ensure the children are entertained. These are brilliant ways of not only entertaining your child, but knowing if their passion is a full-on fire or just smouldering embers, as kids get know exactly what it is to keep their own pony, catch him, groom him, ride him and look after him.

We also heard the lovely Carmen Lauri, who was practically born on a horse, was headed to the Uk to the renowned Norther Racing College in Doncaster to get her jockey licence. Carmen has now completed the first part of her training and is back in Bahrain with her licence. She is riding for the Royal Court and Allan Smith for the 2012/2013 racing season.

May brought to Bahrain Juan Gonzales and his Natural Horsemanship Clinics held at Twin Palms Riding Centre. The clinics covered basic aspects and gave an overview of how to start the bond to form one of the most remarkable relationships you will ever have with your horse, giving top tips, excellent exercises and some fun stuff for both to enjoy. Juan gave a synopsis and a leg up into the world of natural horsemanship using tried and tested methods.

It was a busy month for Molly (Martina) Molloy as she prepared for her mission to Mount Kilimanjaro in an attempt to raise funds for World Horse Welfare a leading international charity. Molly completed her mission, and rumour has it she is looking for her next challenge!

The month also saw the commencement of the Dilmun stables show jumping Master Class competition sponsored by GulfWeekly.

June brought an end to the 2011/2012 season with presentation evenings for all the stables, where all those who had worked so very hard with their horses took their rewards.

Throughout July, August and September, riders go on holiday, and horses have a well-deserved rest – of course the weather here does not lend itself to much riding in the summer months – so it’s a good time for a bit of R&R.

For the start of the 2012/2013 season October brought some amazing news – the EU export ban had been lifted, after Bahrain was given the all-clear from Glanders! There was initially some confusion as procedures for transporting horses and ponies had yet to be put in place, and there still remain restrictions of moving animals between the north and south of the island, but what fantastic news to start the season with.

Starting off their season the Dilmun Riding Stables performed a quadrille, eight horses and riders performing dressage movements to music – pure poetry in motion. They followed this by some nailbiting action in a puissance competition. More news for the Dilmun was that Carina Abdulrahman took over as stable manager from Melanie Spink who stood down at the end of the last season. We also found Carmen Lauri back on her home turf with her licence.

In November, Shakhoora Riding Stables, hosted a show jumping training event, designed to accustom horses and riders to once again go outside their own paddocks to compete. There was no competition, riders could enter the arena and simply have a go, letting their horses see new and different fences in different surroundings for the first time in two years, a lovely idea, that was well attended, and in which all horses performed impeccably.

The month also saw members of various stables take on another mode of travel, as they swapped their riding boots for trainers and ran the Bahrain Marathon Relay for Twin Palms Riding Centre.

On to December and the shows just kept coming. Al Maha Stable hosted the first of its show jumping events for all stables. This was a tremendous success, indicating just how much everyone wants their horses to compete and get back to normal! This was followed by the BREEF hosting its first show jumping event since May 2010. This was held at Al Zubarah Riding Centre in Saar and drew an overwhelming amount of entries. This was followed by another show jumping event hosted by the BREEF at the Military Sports Federation grounds in Al Raffa Sakhir on December 28, bringing 2012 to a close.

So we see out the old year on an exceptionally good note, and we bring in the new with more exciting news.

This month will see more show jumping events hosted by the BREEF, dates for which are yet to be announced. However, I can confirm that on January 26 the BREEF will be hosting the first of their dressage events. There will be three classes, an introductory test, a preliminary test and a novice test, for both juniors (up to 21years) and seniors (over 21). Undoubtedly, this will be a sure hit with all the dressage lovers of the island.

Coupled with this show will be the arrival of the hugely popular equestrian trainer Ian Wright for a two-week period at the end of January. Details on how to book lessons with Ian will be given in next week’s edition of GulfWeekly - make sure to get your copy.

So, I hope everyone has had a wonderful beginning to the New Year as when this edition of GulfWeekly hits your doorsteps it will already be a full-on gallop for events.