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THE ZITF sports proved to be a crowd’s favourite on Saturday as the sports fields were filled to capacity as fans jostled for show jumping, tug-of-war and the four-minute-mile race.
In the show jumping finale, Paula Dakin’s super performance to win two divisions with two different horses from her stable in front of a packed crowd on Saturday was the highlight.
Spectators got good value for their money as Dakin’s The Food Shops Zarina and Ultra Rouge won the Junior/Adult 100cm and the Adult 110/120cm challenges respectively shrugging off stiff competition from fellow riders Koo Mnkandla and Kerry Watson.
Mnkandla, riding Gratis, came second in the Junior/Adult 100cm challenge while Watson on Pro Safaris Dabar came second in the Adult 110/120cm challenge.
Charley Crockart on Don Christo won the Junior/Adult 90cm challenge with Daren Wilmans coming second on Capriole while Zoe Day won the children’s 80/90cm challenge on Kwaraguza Tarik with Tsepo Ngwenya on Scari Sheri coming second.
The children’s 70cm challenge was won by Casey Oosthuizen riding Vronsky while Ashleigh Steyn on Dovenby Rani clinched the second spot.
Thando Ngwenya, a lady who watched Saturday’s show jumping competitions, said the jumps were her favourite part in the whole trade fair spectacle and she had a great time watching with friends and family.
“I always make it a point to come every year to the trade fair and the horse sports have always been my favourite and this year’s edition was not a disappointment as I had fun watching with my friends and family,” she said.
Meanwhile, the gymkhana competition that was going to feature police and prison horses could not be held as it had got late for the competition to be done.
The Main Arena witnessed Kadoma’s Jacob Mugomeri walk away with $500 after winning the ZITF Four-Minute Mile in four minutes 20.97 seconds.
The 20-year-old, however, missed out on the $2 000 winner take all if he had run the event under four minutes and $1 000 if he had run under four minutes and five seconds.
Kelvin Phangiso came second in four minutes 24.86 seconds and got $400 for his efforts while Blessing Chidziva came third in four minutes 24.92 seconds and was rewarded with $350.
In the tug-of-war competition that was in the Main Arena again, Delta C beat Ingwebu B to clinch this year’s edition of the Ingwebu-sponsored tournament and they were rewarded with $1 500, 10 T-shirts and 70 units of Ingwebu Shake-it for their sweat.
It was a, however, a nightmare for Mutare Board and Paper Mills who have been having a stranglehold on the competition for the past 10 years as they disputed their disqualification from the referees in the semi-final and the incident nearly marred the otherwise impressive competition which was superbly organised and characterised by the sweat, blood and pain of some of the country’s biggest and toughest men.
What was bitter to the Mutare team was sweet to Delta who were the victors and this was summed by their over-the-moon captain Farai
Matangaidze who said their hard work had paid off and they were going to celebrate with their fans with toasts of their beloved Ingwebu brew.
“We prepared well for this year’s edition and the win is just so sweet and we will celebrate in style with our fans that were with us through thick and thin,” he said.
Ingwebu were rewarded with $1 000 for their effort while Mutare and How Mine got $600 as semi-finalists.
CBZ, Hwange Colliery, Ziscosteel A and B received $350 as quarter-finalists.
To sum it all it was a good outing for sports fans and it afforded people the chance to witness some of the sports that are out of the mainstream disciplines like soccer and basketball.
Results
Children’s 70cm challenge: 1. Vronsky —Casey Oosthuizen; 2. Dovenby Rani — Ashleigh Steyn; 3. Pink Lady — Emma Raaf.
Children’s 80/90cm challenge: 1. Kwaraguza Tarik — Zoe Day; 2. Scari Sheri — Tsepo Ngwenya.
Junior/Adult 90cm challenge
1. Don Christo — Charley Crockart; 2. Capriole — Daren Wilmans.
Junior/Adult 100cm challenge: 1. The Food Shops Zarina— Paula Dakin; 2. Gratis – Koo Mnkandla; 3. Channel Two — Judah Day.
Adult 110/120cm challenge: 1. Ultra Rouge — Paula Dakin; 2. Pro Safaris Dabar — Kerry Watson.
ZITF Four-Minute-Mile: Jacob Mugomeri (4 minutes 20.97 minutes); Kelvin Pangiso (4mins 22.86secs); Blessing Chidziva (4mins 24.92secs).
Online Reporter