Too Hot To Trot

A huge ‘congratulations’ goes to a teenager who has overcome adversity to become an Olympic champion.

Mohammed Abdulrahman Alghareeb started his equine journey in New Zealand by participating in a Riding for the Disabled programme as working with animals, especially horses, has been proven to help autistic children. 

After his initial enthusiasm, the family approached the Dilmun Stables in 2009 and he started riding there.

When Mohammed, now 18, from Hamad Town, first arrived at the stables he could hardly ride. However, instructor Rowena Newcomen started by teaching him to drop beanbags into a bucket as he was led past.

A quick learner, Mohammed was soon confidently cantering on his own and, as he was eager to learn more, trainer Basel Aldossari stepped in to help teach him the art of show jumping.

Mohammed’s love for horses soon gained momentum and he became the proud owner of his very own horse named Luna DiNero, or Bambam as he is more commonly known.

Together they are amazing and have created an incredible bond. In recent weeks Basel’s training has intensified, teaching Mohammed to follow several verbal instructions in a row in flatwork, figures-of-eight, small and large circles, straight lines and bending, at all paces up to canter.

Having witnessed the hard work that has been put in to achieve this level, all of those involved at the stables were overjoyed to hear that Mohammed was invited to participate in the 8th Regional Special Olympics Championships in Cairo, after the head of the programme came to watch Mohammed ride.
 
Accompanied by Basel, he travelled to Egypt, and was able to ride a horse from the police academy. On the first day Mohammed competed in ‘Walk the Trail’ which entailed the rider remembering a set of instructions and performing them in a routine. A fourth place in this class set Mohammed up for the rest of the competition.

The second day he clinched the bronze medal in the English Riding Competition, and on the final day he took to the podium again with another bronze medal in the Figure of Eight, which was a timed race.

An absolutely fantastic achievement for this young man. Everyone is immensely proud of him and his parents extended their sincere thanks to everyone at the Dilmun Riding Stables who have helped Mohammed achieve his dreams, namely Lisa Powick, Newcomen, Louise O’Nolan and, of course, Basel. They also thanked Mohammed Almatooq and Wafeeqa Khalil from the Special Olympics.

Well done, Mohammed!