There were eight classes in total, all requiring complete discipline and determination given the intricacies of the sport, with horse and rider needing to be both uniformed in both skill and harmony whilst performing.
Day one consisted of the National Team Championships, and the Individual Novice class championships which also included the Purebred Arabian class.
The National Team Championships saw the teams accumulate points throughout the season. A team consists of four riders: three senior and one junior rider. For each event the top three scores of each of the four competing team members are counted, and this goes toward the accumulative team score.
These four qualifying teams included some of the country’s top dressage riders and made for great viewing and tight competition right till the end. Franck’s Ladies took the honours, narrowly beating the Dressage Divas by just over 2%. The winning team consisted of Franck Fogarolo, Joanne Ivemey, junior rider Karin Lindbom and team captain Lilian Sternvad.
Sternvad was thrilled and said of their victory: “I’m so pleased, we only put the team together later in the season and everyone did a great job to win”.
The Novice class was quite competitive, with the outcome having less than 4% dividing the four competitors. Michelle Woolmer took first place with Zabeel Stables’ lovely mare Utopia. The remaining three places went to Emirates Equestrian Centre riders, Shakira Muller riding the handsome gelding Ballinteskin Rocky in second place, Franck Fogarolo aboard bay gelding Dans Boy in third, and Diane Crabtree riding the chestnut Quantum Star was in fourth.
The Pure Bred Arabian class was an elegant display, with both riders and horses performing beautifully. This class is now at Novice level having previously been held at Prelim level. The continuous improvement and quality of the Arabian competitors called for the bar to be raised.
The up-and-coming rider Mohammed Lamhireche for Wrsan Stables took the trophy riding the stunning silver stallion Al Mijlas. Closely behind Lamhireche in score was Madeleine Drakeley riding the only mare in the class, R S Manar. Third and fourth places were awarded to Edith Christmas on her own stallion Maisan and Ebrahim Lamhireche on the freckled horse The Specialist.
Day two saw tensions build, with the Individual championships for Advanced Medium, Medium, Elementary, Prelim Senior and Prelim Junior taking place.
The highest level of the competition, and the premier event was the Advanced Medium class, which was duly won by top rider Cristina Thompson. Thompson only qualified for the nationals weeks before, and managed to win the class convincingly with the striking Andalusian stallion Zafiro. EEC’s Christopher Cyra, an instructor at the yard, put forward an impressive performance to take the runner up trophy on the huge gelding Woody Allen, and Dua’a Anwar finished in third on her own horse Fanegro.
The Medium Class saw less than 1% separating the winner and second place winner and, the competition was nail-biting right down to the end. Janice Jackson riding her gorgeous imported Dutch gelding Vedo managed to keep the minimal winning margin with her impressive performance in the Kur (Dressage to Music). Jackson’s music was a compilation of acoustic Michael Jackson tracks which was very fitting.
Joanne Ivemey came a very close second on the fantastic-moving gelding Archimedes. Although Ivemey’s Kur earned a rousing applause from the audience, it wasn’t quite enough to take the lead back from Jackson. Tracy Gill took third place with her handsome and impressive thoroughbred stallion Worthily. Both rider and horse seemed to thoroughly enjoy the Kur, ridden to Robbie Williams, and had the approval from the audience. Laila Dew rode a consistent test on the Emirates Equestrian Centre school horse Monaco.
The Elementary class was quite action-packed, as the top two riders, Charlotte Drakeley and Christel Langois were head-to-head right up until the final scores were posted. Victory went to Drakeley riding the Welsh mare Cennan Alarch for the Royal Stables, and Langois, with less than .5% difference, took the runner up trophy with her talented Arabian gelding R S Kahraman. Third place went to Lesley Jones riding her thoroughbred mare Kengarth Danielle, and fourth place was awarded to Isabella Tiller on the Iberian grey Indomito.
In the Senior Prelim class, Celeste Pretorius took the spoils with the ever-improving black gelding Quantum Noir. Kirsty Stroud followed in second on her honest gelding Peter Du Fort. In a close race for third place, Christine Khairallah riding EEC’s Mr Gyps only just held off Susanna Foustok and her horse Tristan.
The final class, the Prelim Juniors showcased four of the county’s talented young riders, all ones to look out for in the coming seasons. Alyssa Ritters from Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club rode the best test to take the winning trophy on her horse Chelsey. Karin Linbom rode a lovely test to take second on her Akhal-Teke mare Mer Mer. Third and fourth place were won by Jenna Angle riding Nadja De Porteau and Amy Barrack riding Chloe Dazzler respectively.
At the event’s closing ceremony, the UA Dressage Coordinator, Lilian Sternvad remarked: “We have seen quite a significant development in the highly disciplined sport of Dressage, and the caliber of both the riders and the horses continues to grow each year. This is largely due to our sponsor, Union Properties, who have kindly lent us their support for the once again this year.
“We have just concluded a successful season and we look forward to welcoming both the regular followers and any newcomers at the end of the year when the 2009-2010 season kicks off”.