Mohamed Saeed Haidan tasted his first Big Tour victory of the season during the 11th and penultimate round of the Longines Hathab Qatar Equestrian Tour yesterday.
At the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s Indoor Arena, Haidan astride 12-year-old mare Miss Chili were in hot form as the pair clocked the fastest time of 40.52 seconds in the round two of the competition. Earlier, Haidan and Miss Chili were also the quickest in the first round despite conceding eight faults. “This is my first win of the Big Tour this season and I’m very happy with my horse’s performance. I am more focused on the Medium Tour and I will look forward to the grand finale two weeks from now. It was a tight competition and I enjoyed it immensely,” Haidan, who pocketed QR9,625 in prize money, said.
Meanwhile, Hamad Nasser al-Qadi (180 points) jumped into the overall lead in the Big Tour after finishing second yesterday. Hamad was third in the points tally coming into the 11th leg of the series, but now has taken a three-point lead over Faleh Suwead al-Ajami (177) with just one round remaining. Yesterday, Hamad and 15-year-old gelding SIEC Lonnie came home in 43.70secs and ended up runner-up. Saeed Nasser al-Qadi was third with Andreas SPB Z in 49.21secs.  
Al-Ajami, meanwhile, could only come seventh with Ulano. The pair had won Big Tour class in the 10th leg. Khalid Mohamed al-Emadi, who finished fifth with Zorro Z, is third in the overall tally with 175 points, five behind al-Ajami. Salman Mohamed al-Emadi (173) has slipped to fourth after finishing a lowly ninth with The Toymaker. In fact, Salman had led the standings when the Hathab resumed last weekend after a four-month break forced due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier, Jaber Rashid al-Amri won the Open Class with Canavaro De Muze (E.T.). The pair put on a faultless round in 46.30secs to top the 125cm class. Nasser al-Ghazali was second with Hurry Up in 51.24 secs, while Maryam Ahmad al-Boinin came third with Vol De Nuit Tardonne in 58.32 secs. The 12th and final and 12th leg will be a three-day affair and will be conducted from August 27-29.


Results
Big Tour 130/145cm | Prize Money: QR35,000
1. Rider: Mohamed Saeed Haidan; Horse: Miss Chili; Faults; 8 Time: 63.57secs; Winning Rd faults: 0; Time: 40.52secs; Prize: QR9,625
 2. Hamad Nasser al-Qadi; SIEC Lonnie; 9; 85.45secs; 0; 43.70secs; QR7,875
3. Saeed Nasser al-Qadi; Andreas SPB Z; 0; 65.68secs; 0; 49.21secs; QR5,250


Open Class 115/125cm | Prize-Money QR15,000
1. Rider: Jaber Rashid al-Amri; Horse: Canavaro De Muze (E.T.) ; Faults: 0; Time: 46.30secs; Prize: QR3,750 
2. Nasser al-Ghazali; Hurry Up; 0; 51.24secs; QR3,000 
3. Maryam Ahmad al-Boinin; Vol De Nuit Tardonne; 0; 58.32secs; QR2,250