Day two of the UAE National Dressage Championships saw the Individual Rider; Preliminary Juniors, Mini Juniors, Pure Bred Arab Class, Medium and Advanced Classes.

Held at the Emirates Equestrian Centre, a crowd of supportive spectators turned out to watch the Monday night finals.

The classes of Novice level and above consist of two parts: a set test followed by a Kur. The Kur is a Dressage to Music test, designed and choreographed by each rider to display the training and paces of each horse. Both scores are tallied to decide the winner of each level.

The highest level class for the evening the Advanced class was won by the talented young rider Charlotte Drakeley.

Drakeley, riding her Dutch bred gelding Ronaldo, started their evening confidently performing the set test to put a comfortable margin between herself and her opponents.

Susanna Foustok then put the pressure on by riding a superb test on her in form gelding Tristan, another Dutch bred import, to convincingly win the Kur on 66.3%. Foustok’s Kur was ridden to music from movie themes including the popular James Bond sound track.

Nail bitingly down to the wire, Drakeley’s initial lead proved just enough to hold her winning position on a combined score of 64.4% for both tests. Foustok secured the runner up position with a final score of 64%.

The Medium Class was won by Dianne Breeze on her talented and stunning young stallion Belissimo Vita. Dominating the class in both rounds the pair clearly showed their class winning with a combined score of 74.5%.

Breeze commented “I’m so happy with Herman (Belissimo Vita) and how well he has coped with the pressure I’ve put him under this season. He’s done really well.”

Reserve champion in the Medium Class was Tracy Gill riding the Latvian bred mare Pikarda. The pair scored a credible 67.9% in their Kur ridden to a combination of hip-swinging Latin salsa and tango music and comfortably secured their reserve position.

The Pure Bred Arabian Class, held at Novice level, was won by Ebrahim Lamhireche riding the W’rsan Farm Stallion Khattar W’rsan. Lamhireche rode two lovely tests on the stallion to be awarded the highest score for both rounds, earning a combine total of 65.5%.

Runner up was Alison O’Callaghan riding Sa-Laribou for the Wadi Al Awir Stables. O’Callaghan just fought off the pair, Madeline Drakeley and Sugar Creek Willy, to secure her position.

The scintillating Diva pair Alyssa Ritters and her Oldenberg mare Special Edition showed the Prelim junior riders how it’s done with an impressive score of 75.9%.

The reserved champion position went to Alexandra Millar on her lovely grey gelding Mistral De La Vigotte. Both horses new to the country this season have certainly proved their worth, making the two young riders very happy.

The Mini Junior class is sponsored by UAE Dressage Group Chairperson Lisa Hareb. “ I believe there is quite a gap between the young riders coming into affiliated competitions from Pony Club level and the older more experienced junior riders. I think this is a nice way to encourage the new riders to the sport”.

Sarah Khairallah riding the EEC school horse Emerald won the class with a score of 61.1%, just beating Hannah Runnalls on her recently acquired pony Dunabit scoring 60.7%.

Guest judges for the three days of the Championships are Swedish Judge Mia Ehnlund and British Judge Nereide Goodman. No stranger to the UAE, Goodman has been an instrumental figure in developing the sport in the country over the last 17 years.

Goodman was thrilled to be invited back for the Championships saying “I am impressed each year with the development of the riders and horses in dressage here in the UAE. This year is no different, a credit to the dedication and passion of the riders, trainers and organisers here”.

Tuesday night is the final night of the Individual Classes of the UAE National Riders Dressage Championships; Preliminary Seniors, Novice, Elementary and Advanced Medium Classes.

Entry is free of charge and all are welcome.