Suspens Floreval shines as Tuganov claims top prize on penultimate day

Seasoned Russian rider Vladimir Tuganov claimed the top prize at the QNB Qatar International Show Jumping Championship yesterday, while Suspens Floreval shone on the penultimate day of the event at Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) main arena in Al Rayyan.
Tuganov was a fraction of a second faster than his closest rival Salmeen Sultan Al Suwaidi of Qatar who was astride Cantaro 32, but managed to secure the top prize of €15,450 in the 145 cm class, the feature event of the day, in 72.74 seconds.
The event was also a qualifier for the FEI World Cup competition number 9. The Russian star is through with flying colours after his flawless routine at the Doha event yesterday.
Qatar’s Al Suwaidi spent 72.91 seconds to finish the routine and accounted for a prize cheque worth €12,360. Clinton, with one of Qatar’s celebrity riders, Hamad Al Attiyah on the saddle, was placed third after clocking 73.04 seconds for the same task. Al Attiyah won €9,270 in prize money yesterday.
Victorious Tuganov had a second run, this time on Qualidam, and managed to clock 74.24 seconds to win his second prize cheque of the day, worth €6,180 when he was placed fourth.
Quel Homme, with Qatar’s popular rider Nasser Al Ghazali on the saddle, took 75.04 seconds to complete the round and won the fifth place along with prize money worth €4,326.
Earlier, in the 120cm class, young Qatari star Ghanim Nasser Al Qadi, astride Fudine, clocked a time of 33.58 seconds to grab the first win of the day.
For Ghanim, yesterday’s win was a build-up on his podium finish on the opening day at the QEF Arena, where he won the third place in the same class. Ghanim relied on his favourite horse Fudine and it proved to be a wise decision as the young rider walked away with a prize cheque worth €1,500 after yesterday’s win.  
Second placed Gin Tonic Van De Kranenburg, ridden by Qatari rider Mohammed Salem Al Marri, spent 36.62 seconds to finish the routine while Looping 46, with Indonesian rider Ferry Wahyu Hadiyanto on the saddle, was placed third with a time of 37.18 seconds.
Uzbekistan’s Gairat Nazarov, who guided Vlacido to complete the round in 37.91 seconds, was placed fourth while Qatar’s Abdullah Ali Al Ajeil astride Ben D Aelsterhof completed the top five.
Later, a flawless routine by Siec Cosmos Wijngaardhoeve Z helped Qatari rider Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi clinch the 135cm class yesterday.
Al Rumaihi finished the competition (against the clock with jump off) in a time of35.53 seconds to win the top prize of €2,500, enjoying a magnificent season.
St Lucia, with Qatar’s Hamad Nasser Al Qadi on the saddle, spent 36.23 seconds to complete the routine and that was enough for him to book the second place on the podium. His fellow compatriot Awad Al Qahtani who guided Gerenice Of Colors     to finish the task in 36.89 seconds to win the third place among 25 competitors to ensure an all-Qatari podim.
Al Qadi was rewarded with a cast prize of €2,000 while Qahtani won €1,500.
Casmir’s Son, with Nasser Al Ghazali on the saddle, finished fourth, followed by Salmeen Sultan Al Suwaidi’s Guilder’s Empire Of The Sun who rounded up the top five in the second competition of the day.
After a successful day of quality showjumping, President of Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) Hamad Abdulrahman Al Attiyah lauded the performances of the home riders, saying young talent in the country was getting the right breaks.
“Yes, these events are a major plus for our riders. Last week we had the LGCT and now we are hosting the QNB Qatar International Show Jumping Championship,” Al Attiyah said.
“When Qatar riders compete with top names, they get lessons in stiff competition and that helps them to become better athletes,” he added.
“The last two days, we have seen some quality performances along with results that are promising,” he said.
“You will see that next week we will have the Al Rayyan International Championship. That’s one more event where our riders can compete for wins,” the QEF President said.
“Our events are getting better and bigger. The activities around the venue are a hit with families with children. We want the kids to come out and enjoy the proceedings and have fun at the same time,” he said.
“The new Hathab Series is another event specially planned to blood young riders. We are happy with what we have seen in the first three rounds of the series.”