2017 the british nationals three counties show ground · great britain The Arab Horse Society National Show 2017 July 28-30, 2017 Story and photos by Betty Finke
RESULTS CHAMPION STALLION GOLD: Maestro Des Alpes (Marwan Al Shaqab x Maya Des Alpes), owned by Otto Berg SILVER: Serengeti (Vivegas x Legacys Sonata), owned by Lisa Dunn BRONZE: Oryons Prince (Orayan x Crown Princess), owned by J. M. and J. L. Parfitt
Top left: Gold Champion Stallion Maestro Des Alpes (Marwan Al Shaqab x Maya Des Alpes), owned by Otto Berg. Top right: Silver Champion Stallion Serengeti (Vivegas x Legacys Sonata), owned by Lisa Dunn. Right: Bronze Champion Stallion and Bronze Champion Veteran Oryons Prince (Orayan x Crown Princess), owned by J. M. and J. L. Parfitt.
Judges, left to right: Cedes Bakker, Sue Woodhouse, and Robbie den Hartog.
Judges: Cedes Bakker, Netherlands (fillies, stallions); Robbie den Hartog, Netherlands (geldings, colts); Sue Woodhouse (mares, foals)
O
ne thing was clear very quickly: The rain and thunderstorms that have been plaguing this summer were not going to make an exception for the British Nationals. The show got off to a spectacularly wet and windy start, with the fillies getting the worst of it. In time-honored British tradition, the show continued regardless, which of course meant that many of the horses, especially the yearlings, tucked their tails and didn’t show to their best advantage. You couldn’t really blame them! The first of the international judges, Cedes Bakker from the Netherlands, was thrown right into the thick of the wind and rain to judge the fillies and started off by creating a bit of confusion. ECAHO judges, who are used to the point score system, often don’t quite know how to handle the comparative judging system. Normally, after 166 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b SEPTEMBER 2017
the first round of trotting and walking, the judge lines the horses up in the order in which he would place them after that preliminary round. This may, of course, change after the individual presentation, but usually not drastically, and gives you at least an indication of the probable result. When Mr. Bakker called in the first class, I was surely not the only person who mentally went: “What on earth is he doing?” But it soon became clear that he wasn’t lining them up in any special order at all, just in the order in which they had come in. This of course meant that right until the very end of the class, no one had the slightest clue as to what the outcome might be. And that’s the way it remained for the rest of the show, as the other two judges followed suit. The one thing to be said for this method is that it is a little faster, but since the classes were fairly small anyway, this was not really necessary. 167 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b SEPTEMBER 2017
CHAMPION MARE GOLD: Vvivacious (Vivegas x Adeeba), owned by K. and K. Pody SILVER: EAS Persephone (Tuscany BP x EAS Fate), owned by Lisa Dunn BRONZE: Cwtchamama (Vivegas x Catwalk), owned by Nick Arnold CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE GOLD: Forever Davincio (Aja Angelo x Davinity FM), owned by S. Foreman SILVER: Arimathea (Makisa Adaggio x Misteeqa), owned by Katie Gore BRONZE: Tyrion (Maestro Des Alpes x ES Tahriri), owned by Chris Lowe and J. White CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE GOLD: Margaux Des Alpes (QR Marc x EAMT Marihuana), owned by Otto and Anneise Berg SILVER: CPS Ashalina (Shanghai EA x PS Ambellina), owned by Chrissie Perez-Silva BRONZE: TD Mariada (Mahder Al Jamal x TD Moura), owned Sue Richards CHAMPION YEARLING COLT GOLD: HB Mirajj (Marajj x Hosanna), owned by Heather Brown SILVER: ROE Lammah (Emerald J x ROE Layaal), owned by Talal Aggad BRONZE: Saturninus (Maestro Des Alpes x Shamo), owned by Chris Lowe