Janika Sprunger, the Swiss rider and her horse Bacardi VDL won the Emirates Airline Dubai Grand Prix, the biggest award in Dubai Show Jumping Championship.
The Championship, which took place from 16-19 January, is organized by Dubai Equestrian Club and hosted by Emirates Equestrian Centre in collaboration with the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation (UAEERF) under the supervision of International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).
The competitions were attended by a number of equestrian club representatives, that are sponsoring the championship, and a number of show jumping enthusiasts, who came to see world-class riders, from 30 different countries, compete. The final competition witnessed the best records from riders who were interested in qualifying for the Longines Jumping FEI World Cup™ Final that will be held in Sweden in April.
Success: Emirates Airlines Dubai Grand Prix Winners
The championship kicked off in parallel to CSI2-star competitions in order to allow for the largest number of riders to participate. Adeeb Abdelkareem Al Hammadi, CEO of the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation said, “It’s been a very good show this year and combining classes of CSI2-star with CSI5-star-W serves the development of riders’ skills and encourages them to participate at more prestigious competitions in the future. It also allows riders to strive to achieve the best in the sport of show jumping in general and in the next championship specifically.”
Hamad Al Shamsi, Show Manager, expressed his appreciation to H.H. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of the emirate of Dubai and H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for supporting all equestrian activities. He also extended his appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Saeed Humaid Al-Tayer for supporting the Emirates Equestrian Centre through Meydan Group, and enabling teamwork in all administrative and technical aspects, which constitute the most important factors in the championship’s success
The Grand Prix Competition
The Grand Prix included two rounds, with jumps of 160 cm, which is the highest limit in international jumping competitions. 31 riders participated in the first round, nine of which succeeded in qualifying to the next round. Four out of these nine riders rode with no faults, while the others got only one penalty point for passing the allocated time in the first round.
Two riders completed the second round without faults in both rounds – Janika Sprunger, the Swiss rider and her horse Bacardi VDL came in first by completing the second round in 49.96 seconds, followed by the Italian rider, Paolo Paini and his horse Ottava Meraviglia di Ca’ San G, who completed the round in 51.29 seconds. In the first round, Sprunger outrode Paini in timing, which gave her an advantage over him in the second round.The German rider, Philipp Weishaupt, and his horse Che Fantastica came in third place as they finished the round in 47.85 seconds with four faults.
The British rider, Georgia Tame, and her horse Z7 Caretina took the lead in the Longines Accumulator with the joker jump. The course of this competition was designed with ten obstacles placed at 145 cm high, except for the Joker, which was even higher. 32 riders participated in the competition, but only seven of them succeeded in gathering all 65 points.
This competition is one of the most exciting competitions in the world of show jumping and requires a horse’s courage and rider’s skills to get through. Tame and her horse excelled in this aspect and completed the course with the best time recorded of 49.88 seconds, setting her in first place. Ireland’s David Simpson and his horse Jenson, fiercely competed and completed the round in 49.97 seconds, granting them second place and in third, came the Thai rider, Janakabhorn Karunayadhaj and her horse Hoepala vh Daalhof, completing the round in 53.28 seconds.
The young Emirati rider, Abdul Rahman Ahmed Ameen, and his horse Newton Abbot, came in second place in the Meydan Grand Prix CSI2-star, sponsored by Meydan Group. Thecompetition was held on the final day of Dubai Show Jumping Championship.
