The Peninsula
Prominent Qatari rider Saeed Nasser Al Qadi did not enjoy a cheerful finale at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab yesterday, but his previous heroics earned him the overall Big Tour title in Season 5 of the Longines Hathab Qatar Equestrian Tour.
Qatar Olympic Committee President H E Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani attended the final day's competitions at the world class equestrian venue.
The Big Tour, Medium Tour and Small Tour champions as well as the Future Riders and Dressage Competition winners were crowned by Qatar Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon Federation President Bader Mohamed Al Darwish, Salam International Chief Executive Officer Abdulsalam Abu Issa and Exxonmobil Qatar Facilities Advisor Rashid Al Hajiri.
Saeed, a former overall champion of the prestigious series, sealed the title win with 246 points despite being eliminated from the 14th and final round of the popular equestrian Tour yesterday with his 21-year-old gelding Ulano.
On the other hand, Nasser Al Ghazali and his 19-year-old gelding Quel Homme clinched the victory in the grand finale to sign off at second place with 240 points along with Saeed's brother Hamad Nasser Al Qadi who same third yesterday with Andreas SPB Z.
Al Ghazali clocked times of 68.40 secs and 56.78 secs in his two rounds yesterday while making 12 faults.
Verona, with Mohammed Khalifa Albaker in the saddle, made a total of 16 faults, but secured the second spot after clocking times of 68.23 and 50.15 secs. Andreas SPB Z and Hamad made 18 errors and spent 78.43 and 54.38 secs during the day.
Meanwhile, Rashid Towaim Al Marri clinched his fourth Medium Tour round win in a row to corner the overall title glory with 256 points. Al Marri, stride the Qatar Equestrian Federation-owned nine-year-old mare Navaronne, completed his rounds in 65.84 secs and 47.87 secs respectively to seal the win without any errors.
GOP Stop, with Abdullah Ali Al Ajeil in the saddle, came second in yesterday's round, clocking 68.07 and 54.77 seconds in his two attempts, but he conceded four errors during the course of the competition.
Calgary VD Haterbeek Z, ridden by Hamad Ali Al Attiyah finished third with times of 64.45 and 50.13 secs despite making five faults. French rider Cyrine Cherif finished second in the championship standings with 245 while Mohammed Saeed Haidan came third after collecting 207 points during the 14-round series.
Earlier, in the Small Tour finale, Saeed Hamad Jumaa and Jirocco Blue emerged victorious after completing the first and second rounds in 55.66 secs and 38.49 secs without any faults respectively. Higgs, with Sultan Salem Al Naemi in the saddle, also enjoyed error-free rides as he finished second in 59.36 secs and 38.96 secs respectively.
Khalid Ali Al Adba booked the remaining spot in the final Small Tour podium of the season after completing the same tasks in 54.09 (4 faults) and 41.16 secs.
Small Tour champion Mohammed Jabor Al Naimi and Naville Z came 16th in the last round but it did little to affect his title status.
Al Naimi had already secured a significant lead in the Tour standings and signed off with 261 points at the end of the 14-leg season, 31 points ahead of his closest rival Mohammed Nasser Al Qadi (230). Mohammed Rashid Al Amri finished third with 217 points.
The hugely popular series, aimed at grooming young riders in Qatar, is an initiative of Sheikh Joaan.