Sheikh Khalifa al-Thani produced a clinical show with his nine-year-old gelding Ierland VDL to clinch the Big Tour class at the fourth round of the Qatar Equestrian Tour – Longines Hathab yesterday.
At Qatar Equestrian Federation’s Indoor Arena, Sheikh Khalifa and Ierland VDL were not the fastest combination in the field, but an error-free round in 68.96 seconds catapulted them to top spot in the 140cm class.
Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi, astride 13-year-old mare Fiori LS, clocked the quickest time – 59.42 seconds – but the pair also collected a penalty for four faults, which pushed them to second spot. Faleh Suwead al-Ajami riding Ambre De Beaufour was also faster than Sheikh Khalifa but he too dropped a rail and had to settle for third place.
In the Open Class, Abdulaziz Ahmad al-Mohannadi astride Peppercrack K emerged triumphant. The duo clocked 51.59 secs to top the 120cm class. Mohamed Abdulla Juma on Hurry Up was second, while Abdulrahman Eisa al-Bukhari finished third with Irschi.
Speaking about the popular equestrian tour, the Commercial Director of Al Shaqab and Vice-President of the Supreme Organising Committee of Longines Hathab Qatar Equestrian Tour Omar al-Mannai said the riders participating in the series have shown a very high level of technical skills and it is showing continuous development. “That con-firms the riders are well prepared to compete strongly for top honours in each round as well as the general classifications at the end of the season,” he said.

Round 4 Results
Big Tour | Table A, One Round Against The Clock | 130/140cm | Prize Money QR60,000
1: Horse: Ierland VDL, Rider: Sheikh Khalifa al-Thani, Faults: 0, Time: 68.96 secs, Prize Money: QR15,000
2: Fiori LS, Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi, 4, 59.42 Secs, QR12,000
3: Ambre De Beaufour, Faleh Suwead al-Ajami, 4, 61.22 secs, QR9,000

Open Class | Table A, One round against the clock | 115/120cm | Prize Money QR25,000
1: Horse: Peppercrack K, Rider: Abdulaziz Ahmad al-Mohannadi, Faults: 0, Time: 51.59 secs, Prize Money: QR6,250
2: Hurry Up, Mohamed Abdulla Juma, 0, 52.43 secs, QR5,000
3: Irschi, Abdulrahman Eisa al-Bukhari, 0, 54.33 secs, QR3,750