NEW ZEALANDER Bruce Goodin produced the ride of a lifetime aboard his longtime riding companion Backatorps Danny V to win the feature CSI5*-W HH Ruler of Sharjah Cup presented by Longines on Saturday. Goodin, a long shot in the event, struck from his world No.356 spot to beat Christian Ahlmann, the world No.10, in the process. He rode without fault to complete the second round in 34.68 seconds which was the quickest with Ahlmann taking second with a time of 35.27s on Solid Gold Z and Egypt’s Abdel Said settling for third just 0.03s behind on Alanine de Vains.
Victory at Sharjah should bode well for 51yo Goodin who has been part of the New Zealand Equestrian team for over two decades and represented his nation in four Olympic Games: 1992 Barcelona, 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing. Mohammed Al Kumeiti was the highest placed Emirati rider in the event, taking tenth in the rankings aboard Dalida van de Zuuthoeve with a time of 38.37s and no faults. Abdel Said might have settled for third then, but the Egyptian rider was on target in the Emirates Equestrian and Racing Federation Trophy (1.50m) where he posted the second best time of the first round at 73.25s and then went up one better to win the second round jump off with a time of 33.94s.
Riding Arpege du Ru, he was .99s clear of Great Britain’s Jack Whitaker, who clocked 34.95s on Scenletha. Third, with a time of 36.55s was the Italian Paolo Paini on Ottava Meraviglia di Ca’San G. On Friday, Egypt’s Mouda Zeyada split his winnings twice; first with Ireland’s Shane Breen and then with Latvia’s Kristaps Neretnieks. Zeyada, on Morocco, and Breen, on Z7 Ipswich, tied for the win in the 1.50m Sharjah Islamic Bank Challenge with both riders stopping the clock at 31.10s in the 13 horse jump off, with Goodin and Backatorps Danny V taking third with a time of 31.47s. The second time he was forced to share the winnings was when riding Vizalaty in the Shurooq Cup puissance (1.70m) where he and Neretnieks finished with an identical score.
Third placed was shared by three riders: Tina Lund of Denmark on Cloi, Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Sharbatly on Artuur Jh Z and the UAE’s Hamad Ali Al Kirbi on Carlos F. Saudi Arabia’s Ramzy Al Duhami won the Speed and Handiness (1.45m) event on Viva la Vita with a time of 56.86s, with Syria’s Amre Hamcho taking second on Caramia with a time of 57.26s. In third place was Great Britain’s William Funnell, who posted 57.37s on Billy Mccain. The FEI Group VII Final Juniors class presented by Al Shira’aa was won by Palentine’s Omar Ayman, who was the only rider to go through the course without a penalty. Ayman won aboard Paprica with a time of 33.84s while finishing second was the UAE’s Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi on 39.83s with one penalty.
In third place was another Emirati rider Abdulla Ahmed Al Shurafa, who clocked 31.57s, but registered four penalties. The FEI Group VII Final Childrens class was won by Egypt’s Mohamed Yasser Assar on Javanais d’Ysenbeeck Z, with Jordan’s Ali Yousef taking second and Moustafa Elzayat of Egypt third.
