Automobiles, trains, buses, planes, more automobiles … and I am finally here in Doha. It has been eight years since I was last here and the landscape has changed dramatically since then. Back in 2015, it seemed like the entire city and surrounding area was under construction; now, post-FIFA, it seems more attractive, streamlined and much less chaotic.
YOU ARE HERE. Flying over places like Mosul and Baghdad always makes this small-town Ontario gal a bit giddy.
I woke up this morning to the call to prayer echoing over the city at 4:30 am, and a forecast promising sunny skies and temps of 28C. Meanwhile, we have no power back home in Ontario because of a massive ice storm. I hope everyone is safe as our Canadian winter throws a late-season curveball.
The good news? I have been assigned to a new hotel, the spectacular Alwadi in downtown Doha with sumptuous rooms, a lovely pool, spa, gym, rooftop terrace, restaurants and pubs (yay!). They must have read my first post re: Operation Desert Pinot, which has now been downgraded to Defcon 5 status.
Souk Waqif, a cavernous, sprawling maze of a marketplace, is right across the street and interesting to note that the Souq Waqif Equestrian Festival is currently being held on the edge of the property until February 28. Featuring herds of blue-blooded Arabian horses in breed classes and demos, it is a nod to the strong Arabian horse tradition here.
And more good news! There are two Canadians competing here – dressage rider Naina Moreira Laliberte with Statesman and a charming Canadian you have likely never heard of, Rami Younis (see interview here). Naima rides up centreline tomorrow – go Canada!
CSI 5* Thursday Show Jumping Report
The first major class took place Thursday afternoon of opening day, a 1.45m featuring a large field of 42 international entries over Uliano Vezzani’s big galloping course. The Brazilian rider Francisco Jose Mesquita Musa set the pace early on in the starting lineup aboard Carte de Blue PS Marathon in a time of 31.60 seconds, and it was not until the final group of horses that he was overtaken by both Shane Breen (IRL) and Haya in 30.84 and Kevin Staut (FRA) with 31.12 aboard Dialou Blue PS.
Shane Breen.
This was the first time the 11-year-old grey mare Haya had competed since Olympia in December, but she seems not to have lost a step in the interim. “She’s fantastic,” said Breen. “Obviously she hasn’t been out for a while but she’s so careful, she’s naturally quick. I don’t say it was the plan to win today but every day you have to have a go and she enjoyed it. She came out afterward and she was super chill.” Not bad for a horse that he bought without even trying her after seeing her jump in France, and on the recommendation of his brother, Trevor, who had “sat on her once and said she was ultra-careful and potentially a super horse.”
The feature of the day was the 1.50m Table A class, also attracting a field of 42 who put in some blazing rounds over the extremely fast surface. When the dust had cleared, Germany’s Marcus Ehning topped the podium with the quick Stargold, a 12-year-old Oldenburg stallion. Behind him, remarkably, were the same two riders who shared the 1.45m podium earlier in the day – the speedy Brazilian Francisco Jose Mesquita Musa, , this time aboard Catch Me Marathon, and France’s Kevin Staut piloting Cheppetta.
This is the third year Ehning has shown Stargold at this venue. “He really loves the ring,” he said. “He made it very easy for me, he was really focused, he jumped very good and he is a very fast horse. We are very happy with the win today.”
Ehning acquired the horse just over three years ago. “I knew from the beginning he was a special horse; many people didn’t believe he has the scope but he was very impressive at the [World Championships] last year [where they finished 5th] and I’m very proud of him.”
He adds of the stallion, “He has a strong personality and I always try to keep his personality up. Even today he had one buck in the last line — he loves to play around.”
Complete results here.
Watch the livestream here.
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