Winner of the Medium Tour, Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi
Doha: Young Qatari rider Salmeen Sultan Al Suwaidi won his maiden Emir’s Sword when he compiled his excellent riding skills on Cantaro 32 at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) outdoor arena yesterday.
In the feature event on the final day of the prestigious competition, Al Suwaidi guided his 18-year-old gelding in a well-ridden routine which lasted 78.16 seconds. Although the duo spent more time to complete the round than the other podium winners, they conceded least number of errors, 1.785, to win the top prize worth QR 68,750.
One of Qatar’s most talented riders, Olympian Hamad Ali Al Attiyah who guided Clinton towards a 74.78-second finish, came second behind Al Suwaidi and won QR56,250 in prize money.
Zorro Z, with Salman Mohammed Al Emadi in the saddle, clocked a time of 71.74 but conceded 5.925 errors and was placed third to win QR43,750. Nasser Al Ghazali, on Quel Homme, finished fourth in the final standings with a time of 79.09 seconds while Bolandro, ridden by Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi, clocked 74.12 seconds to round up the top five.
Victorious Al Suwaidi cherished his maiden Emir’s Sword glory.
“It my first Emir’s Sword win. It was a big challenge as there were strong competitors. I have an 18-year-old horse who refused to give up and pushed hard to deliver good results. So I am very happy.
“Today, I was under pressure but it ended nicely,” said the 23-year-old rider who has been riding with Cantaro 32 for two and half years.
Al Suwaidi, who has already qualified for the upcoming World Equestrian Games, said that he is hoping to deliver best results later this year in the USA.
“I had two-three good results in Hathab. I jumped in the World Cup qualifiers in the Arab League. I jumped here in Doha in World Championship qualifiers and I qualified for the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina this year. I hope do well in America as well.
“This is the main show for us here. After this we usually go to Europe and We will then get ready for the Asian Games in Indonesia and also for the World Equestrian Games in September,” Al Suwaidi said.
“It’s a pleasure for anyone to shake Emir’s hand and receive the Sword from Emir. It’s such an honour,” Al Suwaidi added.
Qatari Olympian Al Attiyah who had mixed fortunes during the three-day event, said: “I was bit unlucky the first day. But thank God I was fifth and held my ground in key round and today I finished second. I am very happy. Salmeen is a very good rider with a really good horse. Both of them deserve it as they worked so hard during the whole season to achieve this victory. I want to congratulate him. This is my best result in Emir Sword.”
“Every year I came with my second horse, this year I had a good horse. We were not ready for the show but we did what we could and ended up second. We could have won but I was my mistake that cost us and not my horse’s,” Al Attiyah said.
Later, in the Medium Tour (125/135cm class) was clinched by Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi on Fiji following an excellent 74.85-second run. Fiji conceded the least number of faults to grab the top prize of QR41,250 in the QR150,000 event.
Dollar Van De Zuuthoeve, with Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser Al Thani in the saddle, completed the routine in 76.10 seconds to secure the second place. He joined on the podium by Cyrine Cherif who guided Gerlin VD Waterkant to complete the routine in 70.73 seconds, but with 11.565 faults.
Sheikh Abdulla won QR30,000 in prize money while Cherif got richer by QR22,500.
Monopoly, ridden by Khejaim Faraj Al Marri, spent 77.20 seconds to complete the round while Hussain Said Haidan on Casanova took 72.60 seconds to finish the task, but with 17.630 faults .
In Small Tour, 110/120cm class, popular rider Mohammed Al Ghazali guided Michael Jackson towards the victory.
The nine-year gelding spent 71.08 seconds to complete the routine, slower than the rest of the podium winners in the event, but had the least number of mistakes.
Al Ghazali won QR25,000 for winning the event. Graffiti De Lully CH, with Saeed Hamad Al Rashdi in the saddle, completed the same task in 68.38 seconds to secure the second place which came along with a prize cheque worth QR20,000 while Nasser Al Qadi rode Vlacido Mohammed to finish the round in 62.79 seconds, conceding 5.475 faults to book the remaining podium slot.
Abdulla Rashid Al Amri on Cinderella B was placed fourth while Maradonna 25, ridden by Shka.
Fatima Jabor Al Thani rounded up the top five.
