Morocco’s Abdelkabir Ouaddar (also in action, right) celebrates winning the CSI5* event ahead of world numebr one Scott Brash. PICTURES: Lotfi Garsi
By Chris Hoover/Doha
Morocco’s Abdelkabir Ouad-dar on bay stallion Quickly De Kreisker caused a major upset by overwhelming World number one Scott Brash to claim the CSI5* Euros 38,250 prize at the CHI Al Shaqab 2015 competition at the state of the art Al Shaqab outdoor arena yesterday.
The 52-year-old Moroccon Ouaddar clocked 39.70 as against Brash and Hello Sanctos’ 41.21. Third place went to Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Cornet D;Amour, who finished in 41:36.
“It is incredible to beat the World number one Scott Brash. I feel I am on cloud nine at the moment after such a big win. My horse is very strong and I get whatever I ask of him. I am very confident with him. He is my real strength which enabled me to beat such a strong field,” a jubilant Ouaddar told the Gulf Times.
Great Britain’s Laura Renwick on Rembrandt Blue came through with a dazzling performance to claim the first CSI5* Speed and Handiness competition with the bar in all obstacles set at 1m45cm. Laura made amends for her failure the previous night, where she finished second to Simon Delestre in a Five Star event.
Britain’s leading lady show jumper Laura was the 20th rider to test the course and she did well to beat Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano and his bay mare French Coffee, who had previously established an early lead, by 0.54 seconds. Laura clocked 57.12 to Emanuele’s 57.68 seconds. Third place went to Belgian Oliver Philippaerts and Carlito C, who finished in 58.62, while Jordan’s Ibrahim Bisharat on Chirico W just missed out on a top-three finish after putting on a fantastic effort to finish fourth in 60:72.
There were several riders, like Gregory Wathelet or Steve Guerdat who seemed to avoid pushing hard for a top placing, presumably saving energy for the upcoming events, while others chose to skip the event.
The only rider who beat Laura on Wednesday, Germany’s Daniel Deusser, chose not to enter the competition as well.
“I am over the moon. So very happy to win today. It has been an unbelievable run for me. I am thrilled,” the first female winner at this year’s CHI Al Shaqab Laura told reporters after her winning effort.
“I have had him for eight months now and he has started to jump bigger and he is always quick and careful. So these sort of classes are always good for him. Rembrandt Blue has the heart and I hope one day he will jump bigger because he loves to jump. He is a really competitive horse at this level and I hope he continues this way.”
Speaking about the competition, Laura said. “I was in the middle of the class to go so I could watch some of the horses. I saw Emanuele go –very fast. So I just went in and tried to turn in as tight as I could and try and be as quick as I could. When I looked to the clock, I was happy with my time. I was thinking maybe he was a little bit slow. In the end it worked out pretty well today.”
“I feel this win will set me up well for other bigger events. I have another horse and he will jump tonight. He jumped very well last night. He was just a bit unlucky as one fence went down at the end. I’m looking forward to the rest of the competition.”
“Wow,” she said about the competition and the venue. “I came here two years ago and I’m very happy to come back. This is one of my favourite shows and venue. This is a wonderful place for horses and riders. I’m really delighted to be here again.”
Second placed Emanuele Gaudiano was satisfied with the results. “I’ve got a very new horse but I am totally happy with how she adopted to the course and the whole competition.”
“Everything is organised on the top level here. It’s a pleasure to be here and compete with the best riders.”
