Too Hot To Trot

Al Afoo Stables hosted one of the top two-day show jumping and dressage events of the season.

Friday kicked off with the show jumping session. It appeared that every show jumper on the island was present to try their luck and hopefully take home one of the wonderful prizes.

The competition got under way with the juniors and the green horse class first. There was not an empty seat as the spectators gathered around to watch as the competitors took to the arena.

The ‘clear round’ class attracted more than 20 entrants. Several new faces were seen securing lovely clear rounds. Mustafa Dadulla on Rainsong came out on top with a time of 39.06. Next to the podium was Imogen Nell on Mojito with a time of 40.81. In third place was Jassim Al Jamri on Skin Skit with a time of 41.05.

The juniors geared up again for the next class which was a two-phase affair featuring 12 fences with heights of 80-95cm. Talented young rider Ahmed Al Hasheli on Horse Pride Thunderbolt enjoyed a lightning fast round and raced to victory with a time of 26.93. Ebrahim Nader on Mobily was second and schoolgirl Aimee Keen on DJ Fleur took third.

The adults were up next in a two-phase event with fences raised to heights of 95-105cm. Veteren show jumper Basel Al Dosari on Chica in a time of 21.20 stormed away to victory. Sami Ghazwan proved to be a fierce competitor and claimed second and third on his mares, Miss Adhari and Miss Aalia.

The last class of the day proved to be the most exciting, a two-round grand prix style class. With heights now ranging from 115-125cm in the first round and 125-135cm in the second round, Al Afoo Stables was completely packed as the action got underway.

All watched in awe as 26 competitors and their horses flew through the air to battle it out for the fastest clear round time.

All competitors, except the ones who were eliminated, were allowed another go in the second round. In total 17 riders decided to try their luck and entered the arena again after the fences were raised.

The spectators were on the edge of their seats as one by one the riders gave it their best shot.

After the dust had cleared teenage sensation Hussain Dadulla came out victorious to claim the BD400 prize pot. The 17-year-old superbly rode Dilmun Arko to the championship title and top honours. Abbas Yousif, on Indorado, claimed second place and Ghazwan, on Miss Adhari, rode his way to third.

It was an amazing day and definitely one of the most thrilling show jumping events of the season.

Saturday’s event started at 5pm. A beautiful white dressage arena was put in place and international judge Oliver Walter was flown in to adjudicate the event.

Class one was Preliminary 18. All riders were dressed to impress and their horses were plaited up and as clean as a whistle.

Each rider and horse showed both grace and beauty in their movement and demonstrated a strong partnership. Gina Fourie, on the beautiful Andalusian Navado, had a perfect test which put her in first place. Jerri Taylor, on her stallion Cortez, was placed second and Aimee Keen was riding high again on Al Fateh Westwind to take third place.

Reza Al Afoo, owner of Al Afoo stables gave a lovely demonstration between the classes. He was able to show how he could get his horse to sit on command and rear as well. It was an amazing display of his training techniques and showed how well horses and riders can communicate with each other.

Class two was Novice 30 and the horses and riders were amazingly in sync with each other. Gina Fourie, on Navado, again came out the victor. She took the top prize of a brand new dressage saddle donated by equestain store, Things To Do. In second and third place was Dilmun rider Sharon Nicklin on Dilmun Cinzano and her horse Hero, respectively.

Al Afoo Stables really ended the season with a bang and I’m sure everyone involved ion the equestrian scene will be talking about this show all summer.

British ambassador Simon Martin and his wife, Sophie, presented the awards to the winners. Things to Do, Al Hasanain Contracting, AGS Stables and Bahrain Scrapmould sponsored the event and provided more than BD4,000 in cash and prizes.

Well done everyone!

Results:
Day 1 Friday Show jumping
Green horse (Clear round)
Mustafa Dadulla/ Rainsong
Imogen Nell/ Mojito
Jassim Al Jamri/ Sken Skit
Mohammed Ghazwan/ Magnum
Hussain Asghar/ End or Beginning
Faten Faisal/ Al Wajbah
Junior Two-Phase
Ahmed Al Hasheli/ Thunderbolt
Ebrahim Nader/ Mobily
Aimee Keen/ DJ Fleur
Jameela Haseid/ Rio
Saif Dweik/ Bingo
Aimee Keen/ Rio
Adult Two-Phase
Basel Al Dosari/ Chica
Sami Ghazwan/ Miss Adhari
Sami Ghazwan/ Miss Aalia
Muslim Ali/ Emily
Salman Faraj/ Argentini
Salman Faraj/ My Precious
Class 3 Adults (125-135cm)
Hussain Dadulla/ Arko
Abbas Yousif/ Indorado
Sami Ghazwan/ Miss Adhari
Muslim Ali/ Pascal
Ali Essa/ Horse Pride Elcara
Kumail Al Mallah/ Queen Fairooz
Day two Saturday
Preliminary 18
Gina Fourie/ Navado
Jerri Taylor/ Dilmun Cortez
Aimee Keen/ Al Fateh West Wind
Sharon Nicklin/ Hero
Sharon Nicklin/ Dilmun Cinzano
Aimee Keen/ DJ Fleur
Novice 30
Gina Fourie/ Navado
Sharon Nicklin/ Dilmun Cinzano
Sharon Nicklin/ Hero
Aimee Keen/ Al Fateh West Wind
Aimee Keen/ DJ Fleur
Jerri Taylor/ Dilmun Cortez