Nadia Taryam finished her showjumping season with a bang, winning for a second consecutive weekend to be crowned UAE national champion atop Zambezi.
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Taryam, who now rides for the Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC), was the only rider to go clear in all three rounds over the past weekend at the Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club.
The SLC bought her Zambezi, an 11yo gelding, a couple of months ago and their partnership has been fruitful from the get-go.
After winning a show the previous weekend, which earned her a handsome paycheck as well as a Nissan pick-up truck, Taryam followed up that win with another on Saturday in Sharjah.
Abdulla Al Marri came second with four faults on Sierra Joter while Mohammed Al Hajri was third with six faults Al Hawajer Quidam's A La Bonheur.
“It’s been a great end to the showjumping season,” Taryam said.
“Last weekend I won a big show and I won a car, and now I won the national championship. It’s really been great.
A video posted by Raghda taryam رغده تريم (@raghdataryam) on May 2, 2015 at 11:09am PDT
“I now ride for the Sharjah Ladies Club, who bought me a new horse, Zambezi. Last weekend I won a big show and I won a car, and now I won the national championship. It’s really been great.
“It was nail-biting towards the end on Saturday because if I had dropped a fence, I would have gone into a jump-off with Abdulla. But thankfully I went clear again.
“The SLC are supporting me with everything, they even signed a contract with my trainer, Andre, who is now my coach and the coach of the club’s team.
“I was working at the SLC before (not as a showjumper) and it was so difficult to be able to juggle my sport and my work together.
“Sheikha Jawaher she decided to start a showjumping team and I’m the administrator of the team and the only rider as of now. Every year we’re going to add another girl. So now I’m a full time rider and I’m managing the team.
“I’m really happy that the club have put their faith in me, and it’s also testament to the hard work I’ve put throughout the years. They have acknowledged that and are backing me. And I’m glad to see that it paid off right away.”
Taryam will give her horses a break and will head to Germany from June until August to search for young horses to buy.
As for next season, things remain uncertain for the UAE with nothing yet resolved following the ban the Emirates Equestrian Federation has received from the FEI (international governing body for the sport) due to violations in the endurance discipline. The blanket ban says the UAE won’t be allowed to host any international events, including other disciplines like showjumping.
“We have no idea what’s going to happen next season, if we’re going to have international shows or not. It’s not a very nice situation and there’s nothing we can do about it,” said Taryam.