BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Experienced rider Edwina Tops-Alexander of Austria yesterday topped a strong field to claim the two-leg final round at the Qatar International Show Jumping Championship.
The Austrian produced a near-perfect routine on Old Chap Tame to clinch the top prize of QR186,000 at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC).
Edwina finished ahead of Qatar’s Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi who guided Gunder to an impressive second-place finish.
In third place was La Toya 44, who was ridden by Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Sharbatly.
Edwina clocked a time of 49.29s while Al Rumaihi finished with a time of 50.37s.
Al Rumaihi picked up QR148,800 in cash while third-placed Sharbatly was richer by QR111,600. Sharbtaly had one fault in his two runs.
“I am really happy. It is always a moment of joy,” Edwina said. “I did as much as I could. The horse jumped amazing and it all worked out well.”
“I am super happy, yes,” she said. “I won the Grand Prix three years ago in Doha. I have been here many times. I go to Basel from here. It is an indoor event and then I do a lot of World Cup shows after that.”
Al Rumaihi said: “My horse doesn’t have much experience. He has been with me for only two years. But he did really well. He tried hard. It (the difference) was just less than a second between me and the winner.”
Al Rumaihi said he was expecting a good result. “I am not surprised with my result. We have to work hard to get such results. There were a lot of pressure. I am really happy for my horse,” the Qatari said.
“I had him since last year. I had him when he was seven. We are aiming for big achievements. I want to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games,” Al Rumaihi added.
Earlier, in competition 10 (145cm), Qatar’s Khalid Al Emadi combined well with Utascha SFN to seal his win with a time of 34.66s.
Al Emadi picked up the top prize of QR29,625. Rabane De Sury — who had Turkey’s Omer Karaevli in the saddle — finished in the second spot that was worth QR23,700.
The third spot was secured by Al Hawajer Arizona Pie 9 — who was ridden by Sheikh Khalifa Al Thani — with a time of 37.34s.
The third-place finish was worth QR17,775.
Earlier, Qatar’s in-form rider Rashid Al Towaim Al Marri produced a neat routine on Kannada to win competition 9 (130-135cm) at the QREC.
Kannada clocked a time of 59.48secs to seal his win ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Khaled Aleid who clocked a time of 60.01secs. Aleid was astride Lord Figaro 2.
In third place was Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Alhamazani, who clocked a time of 61.26secs.
Al Marri picked up the top prize of QR10,000 while Aleid walked off with QR8,000 cash. The third prize was worth QR6,000.
THE PENINSULA
