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Twenty-year-old horse breaks international duck at major show

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • Quel Homme notched the first victory of his career in the CSI2* 1.40m two-phase class at the venerable age of 20 in Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab in Doha (24 February). The veteran showjumper scored a win for the home team, ridden by Qatari rider Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi, aged 28. Only two riders jumped double clear, and the winning pair took victory by nearly 2sec over Sheikh Khalifa Al Thani (Ierland VDL), also of Qatar.

    Quel Homme, a gelding by Quidam’s Rubin x Drosselgang, was previously ridden by Khalid’s friend and compatriot Nasser Al Ghazali, who competed him up to CSI4*. The horse has not competed internationally for almost a year. He was originally campaigned by Britain’s Samuel Hutton and has been competing all over the world. He did have a relatively late start on the international stage, making his debut as an eight-year-old, but this low mileage seems to have resulted in a wonderful zest for the job 13 years on.

    “I owe it all to my friend Nasser,” said Khalid. “The horse is 20 years old, so the credit should go to the rider who has produced him. The horse has been going really well, and we are just trying to maintain him. We don’t jump him too often; we try to pick the right classes for him. For instance, yesterday I did not jump the big class, so that I could save him for today – and the plan works very well for me.”

    It was also a first international start for the partnership. Covid restrictions have meant that shows at two- and three-star level have been limited over the past few years. Khalid’s CV includes representing Qatar at the World Equestrian Games in Caen, 2014, and team gold at the Asian Games the same year.

    In the five-star classes later that evening, France’s Simon Delestre won the 1.45m Table C class on Amelusina R 51, just pipping Thursday night’s winning partnership Shane Breen and Haya by 0.16sec. Germany landed the 1.55 jump-off class, when Christian Kukuk and Mumbai shaved 0.06sec off another Irish bid for glory, Mark Mcauley on GRS Lady Amaro.

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on dogs of all shapes and sizes. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs, one a street dog from Gambia who was abandoned at three weeks old. Now, her constant companion, whether by her feet at her desk or walking cross-country courses, is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry

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