By Duane Fonseca - 

Emirati jumpers dominated the leaderboard in the main event of the inaugural CSI2* Sharjah Kalba International Show Jumping Championship, the Kalba Grand Prix presented by Longines, with seasoned professional Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi leading a top-five finish at the beachfront event along the UAE’s East Coast.
The competition was attended by Sheikh Haitham bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Deputy Head of the Ruler's Office in Kalba, Sheikh Abdullah bin Majid Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club, Sultan Mohammed Khalifa Al Yahyai, President of the Regional Group 7 of the International Equestrian Federation, with Al Muhairi making history for the UAE with two blemish-free rounds of riding aboard Coenig, his 12-year-old partner. A total of 31 riders started the event with just eight making the cut for the jump-off after posting flawless first rounds. 

Abdullaev denied
Abdurakhmon Abdullaev on Go Four It B was the quickest among those that rode without fault during the first round, but the Uzbekistan rider could not match that performance in the second round and his four penalty points deprived him of a runners-up finish behind Al Muhairi, who was quicker by 0.3 seconds when clocking 31.95 secs. With Abdullaev out of the way, the rest of those eyeing podium spots could focus on precision more than mere speed and Mohammed Ghanem Al Hajri turned in a next best time of 32.59 secs on Jarlin De Torres, which was 0.04 secs quicker than the 32.653 secs Salim Khamis Al Suwaidi was timed at on the back of Zadora. 

Marzooqi fault free
Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi was the only other contestant to post a fault-free ride and finished fourth on Enjoy De La Mure with 34.85 secs, while Ali Ahmad Al Kirbi rode quickest of all over the 145cm obstacles, but his time of 31.73 secs did not matter after his position on the leaderboard was compromised by the fact he accumulated four penalties in the process.
Elsewhere, Nawaf Salem Al Karbi led a UAE clean sweep of the podium in the 130cm Special Two Phases event aboard Cayman 59, the pair traversing the course in 33.34 secs, which was marginally quicker than the 33.82 secs clocked by second placed Salem Al Suwaidi on Comme Ci. Mohammed Ahmed Al Owais and Fara De Beaufour finished third clocking 34.97 secs.
The Equinest Accumulator with Joker witnessed Syrian rider Laith Shadi Ghrayeb secure top spot on Edelweis Du Mauprix with the quickest time of 47.18 secs after scoring an identical 65 points like 11 others. UAE’s Mabkhout Owaida Al Kirbi placed runner-up on Air Ukraine with 48.46 secs while Amna Ahli representing Great Britain took third on James VDB with 50.67 secs on the clock.