Duane Fonseca -
The decision to pick consistency over speed saw Omar Abdulaziz Al Marzooqi snatching the honours in the Virtus Grand Prix (145cm), the main event of the second edition of the CSI2* Virtus International Show Jumping Cup 2023 at Emirates Equestrian Centre. UAE Asian Games and Olympic Team rider Al Marzooqi and his mount Enjoy De La Mure were the only pair from among the field that vied for the honours to ride fault-free over the two rounds of competition. The pair finished atop an all-Emirati podium which witnessed Mohamed Shafi Al Remeithi and Mohamed Hamad Al Kirbi occupy the minor spots in that order respectively.
The trio were the only ones to qualify for the jump-off which is where the real drama is. And it was Al Remeithi, who had recorded the quickest First Round time aboard Caramba, his 75.33 seconds, significantly better than Al Marzooqi’s 79.76 seconds and the flat 81 seconds clocked by Al Kirbi. However, when it mattered Al Remeithi decided to go all out, but made errors and picked up four faults that made his time of 41.37 seconds, inferior to the 45.24 seconds posted by Al Marzooqi and Enjoy De La Mure.
Al Marzooqi’s time were the slowest of the three in the jump-off, but it stood after Al Kirbi succumbed under pressure and collected eight faults when completing the course in 43.83 seconds. A total of 292 horses and riders from 31 countries were seen in action during the second edition of the Virtus CSI2* CLEVER AL MARZOOQI ENJOYS SUCCESS IN VIRTUS GRAND PRIX International Show Jumping Cup, whose opening day was dominated by women, with young Emirati rider Alya Adnan Awadh Al Mheiri ousting a field of 96 riders to win The Date Room (110cm) event on Douwecara.
Al Mheiri, 13, won the Special Two Phases event with a cumulative time of 58.27 seconds, narrowly edging another UAE rider Nawader Omar Al Nabooda, who was timed at 58.33 seconds aboard 1st Princess. Completing the podium in the opening event of the three-day championship, was Rashed Khaled Al Junaibi on Kirsina (59.82s). USA’s Talya Ismail Mounajed won the Al Sakb Equestrian Special Two Phases Class (120cm) with Quite Van Koekshof clocking 60.58 seconds, while Syrian rider Boushra Al Assad and her mount Leelandi scored a double winning both the Majesticq Royal.
