Prominent rider Hamad Nasser Al Qadi emerged overall champion in the Big Tour despite missing out on the top podium finish yesterday as the curtain came down in the 12-leg Longines Hathab Equestrian Series.
At the Qatar Equestrian Federations Indoor Arena, Quel Homme, with Nasser Al Ghazali in the saddle, clinched a thrilling win the final round of the Big Tour yesterday, but that could not place him among the top three in the overall standings.
Al Ghazali clocked a time of 56.10 secs in the 130/145cm event and followed up with a jump off that lasted 31.64 secs to win yesterday and bag a prize cheque for QR11,200.
The Toymaker and Salman Mohammed Al Emadi finished second in both yesterday's round as well as the overall standings (179 points) after completing the same task in 57.64 secs and 32.45 secs respectively.
Hamad and S I E C Lonnie came third in the 12th leg with a routine which he completed in 57.86 secs (8 faults).
Hamad topped overall Big Tour standings with 184 points.
"Despite finishing third in the 12th round, I’m so happy I could still emerge on top. It was not an easy competition and this experience will stand me in good stead moving forward," the jubilant Big Tour champion, Hamad said after the event.
Faleh Suwead Al Ajami, after finishing fourth in yesterday's round with Carport, was placed third in the points table (178).
The Medium Tour championship was won by Mohammed Khalifa Albaker while Mohammed Al Ghazali won the Small Tour Championship.
The overall champions were crowned by Omar bin Khaled Al Mannai, Vice-President of the Longines Hathab Organising Committee, Ali Al Rumaihi, Director of the Championship and Bader Al Darwish, Member of the Organising Committee of the Championship and Secretary-General of both Qatari and Asian Equestrian Federations. Representing official sponsors of the series, Saleh Al Mana, Vice President and Government Affairs Director for ExxonMobil Qatar, and Abdulsalam Abu Issa, Chief Executive Officer of Salam International, were also present.
The organisers and the hosts of the event, Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) and Al Shaqab, also honored the official sponsors, Longines, ExxonMobil, and Salam International and volunteers of the Qatar Red Crescent, led Abdul Rahman Al Mahdi.
Earlier, in the Medium Tour, Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi excelled with Jazz De Semilly K Z (Dupli) to seal the season's final podium win, but the second place was enough for Albaker to seal the overall title with 193 points.
Ghanim and his eight-year-old mare completed yesterday's second round in 45.62 secs before a jump off that was completed in 32.85 secs. He bagged QR5,500 in prize money.
Albaker's Verona completed the same routine in 43.72 secs, followed by a 33.12 second jump off. Both of them made four errors each during the jump off. Ghanim was placed second in the overall standings after 12 rounds with 187 points.
"My aim was to win the Medium Tour title and I’m happy I got to achieve that. It was a very satisfying experience," Albaker, who achived seven podium spots during the 12-leg series, said after yesterday's victory.
Canavaro De Muze (E.T.), with Jaber Rashid Al Amri in the saddle, completed yesterday's round in 44.58 secs to book the remaining spot on the podium, but Mohammed Saeed Haidan and Miss Chili who missed out on a podium spot yesterday, managed to finish the season with 184 points at the third spot in the overall standings.
In the Small Tour, the overall victory was clinched by Mohammed Al Ghazali (191 points) who finished second with Dino Bb Z yesterday.
Vol De Nuit Tardonne, with Maryam Ahmad Al Boinin in the saddle, won yesterday's event after completing the round in 48.36 secs and following up with a jump off of 33.13 (8 faults). Dino Bb Z was faster in the regular round (44.74 secs) but spent a time of 34.67 (8 faults) during the jump off.
Vlacido, ridden by Mohammed Nasser Al Qadi (45.97 -4 faults) finished third in yesterday's round as well as in the overall standings with 186.5 points.
Khalifa Abdulla Al Khaldi, despite not competing yesterday, secured the second spot in the points table (188.5).
Ghanem Nasser Al Qadi also emerged Dressage (Level 2) champion while Jessica and Don won the Dressage (Level 1) overall title.
'The Top', which consisted of Faleh Al Ajami, Hussein Haidan, Sayed Al Abara and Muhammad Abara, emerged team champions.
