Sheikha Latifa with her horse Living Star after winning the World Dressage Challenge. ©Gulf News |
Sheikha Latifa's score on percentage points of 57.2 was good enough to fetch her the top spot and a possible current second or third in the five-nation FEI zone.
"Her performance was good and she might be presently placed second or third in this FEI zone," said Rolf Beutler-Bath, the FEI International Judge after the awarding ceremony.
"The final results of how Sheikha Latifa is placed will be known only after this competition," added the second judge, Claes Cederstrom from Sweden.
"It feels really, really good. And I was not expecting such a honour tonight," said Sheikh Latifa while caressing her horse Living Star. "He's been such a fantastic horse and it looked like he wanted to win tonight," she said.
Coming in third into the arena, Sheikha Latifa took Living Star – by her own admission the only horse she prefers taking to dressage competitions – on a working trot, followed by a track to the right, a shoulder-in left with a half volte.
And by the time she had guided Living Star to a turn right and a half turn right on the haunches, then switching on to a simple change of leg, before proceeding on the centre line for a G halt, the small crowd knew they had a winner for the night.
"He was too good tonight. He just did what I wanted him to," Sheikha Latifa beamed proudly about her 12-year-old horse.
Coming in second was Zabeel rider Cristina Calin on Espartero XIII with a score of 56.7 per cent, while young Theresa Krapf on Solero was third with 54.4 per cent.
Also impressing the two-judge jury from the FEI was 15-year-old Taylor Boyd on Silly Season with a score of 53.3 per cent for fourth position.
Christine Khairallah took Gigolo to fifth place with 52.2 per cent and last year's FEI winner Humaid Rashid aboard his 16-year-old dark bay Polish mare, Dunka, was placed sixth with 50.4 per cent.
Earlier, in the Childrens' Dressage Competition, Adrienne Kettlewell took Prakash to the top spot with a score of 294 points amounting to a percentage of 58.80.
