DOHA: The Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) is set to launch a two-leg 2015 Doha Tour show jumping event from today, it was announced yesterday.
According to Khalid Safar Al Hajri (pictured right), Secretary-General, QEF, competitions will be held in the 140-145cm class at QEF Outdoor Arena with riders from the region competing against Qatar show jumpers.
Riders from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will be seen in action today and tomorrow, Al Hajri said yesterday.
Al Hajri confirmed Qatar’s top two riders Bassam Hassan and Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani will not feature this week as they are busy with World Cup competitions in Las Vegas.
“It has been a busy season for our riders with numerous competitions held over the last three months. We plan to expand this series to three legs from next year,” Al Hajri said. “This year the event will be held on April 10 and 11 at QEF’s Outdoor Arena whereas the series moves to Al Shaqab on April 17 and 18,” he added. “We have plans to add another stop and take the event either to Aspire or Katara from next season and unveil our series as an international event,” he said.
“The first two legs this year will have a local flavour to the event but the prize money at our events equals to what you see at top international show jumping series,” Al Hajri said.
“The QEF takes great pride in the development of the sport with the backing of H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani who is heavily involved in horse shows and races. QEF president Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Attiyah continues to be heavily involved in boosting the development of Qatari riders,” Al Hajri said. “Our riders finished second at the Miami Grand Prix where Bassam Hassan made Qatar proud with his performance. His exploits in Miami were keenly followed by Sheikh Joaan and QEF President,” Al Hajri said.
“I would like to thank the media for promoting our show jumping events in the right spirit. The more media spotlight our riders get, the better it is for their moral,” he added.
Drawing huge crowds, the QEF Outdoor Arena staged two key events in March including the 2015 Emir Show Jumping Championship Sword which was held under the patronage of the Emir, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. In January, QEF staged an international series leg that also was keenly followed. Today’s action starts at 3:00pm. THE PENINSULA
