Double delight for Kirbi as Stockdale wins Equitrans Logistics Diamond Tour

The CSI2* Majesticq Royal Care Accumulator kicked off day three of the Al Shira’aa International Horse Show, with 19 out of the 51 starters taking the maximum 65 points.

But it was the UAE’s Ali Hamad Al Kirbi who jumped the fastest, clearing the round in 45.55s aboard Doklahoma VDL to clinch first place.

Aya Hamcho of Syria followed in second place on her bay stallion Dxb Legend in a time of 48.37s, just pipping Dubai-based Iranian rider Farhang Sadeghi into third place on Gazaro VDL.

It was another win for 23-year-old UAE rider Ali Kirbi in the CSI2* Bolesworth Gold Tour, who jumped clear in 58.16s to take the top spot on 9-year-old stallion Kaltic Ryal K, owned by Mohamed Ezedin Alsamkari. Humaid Abdulla Khalifa came in second on Leestone Mylord Trumps, a grey mare owned by Al Shira’aa Stables with whom he partnered to victory at the recent CSI2* in Dubai.

Teammate Salim Ahmed Al Suwaidi was just behind in third place on Frank Moeller’s Comme Ci and Omar Abdul Al Aziz Al Marzooqi in fourth on Concordia.

Antonia Pettersson Haggstrom of Sweden became the first female to top the leaderboard by winning the 140cm CSI4* Peal Tour sponsored by Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Al Nayhan. In a strong field, she jumped clear in 29.23s on Komme Vous, a 9-year-old bay mare owned by AS Trading.

Syria’s Shady Ghrayeb rode Cabernet de Mars into second place, with 0.13s standing between him and another 140cm win. Third place also went to Syria, with 20-year-old Laith Ali on Camelia de la Vigne jumping clear in a slightly slower time of 29.60s. This duo was part of the Gold Medal-winning team at the regional games in Oran, Algeria in 2022.

Great Britain emerged victorious in the CSI4* Equitrans Logistics Diamond Tour, with Joseph Stockdale and Ebanking taking top honours in this 150cm class in 66.04s. Joseph had flown in for the event, with Equitrans handling the shipping, and has qualified for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Irish rider Shane Breen came a close second on Scarteen, with Christian Ahlmann from Germany securing a second top-three finish on Otterongo Alpha Z. The top 40 riders from this class will go head to head in the Longines Grand Prix Final on Sunday evening fighting for a share of the €155,000 prize fund.