BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Next week’s Emir’s Sword show jumping gala will offer a staggering QR2.5m in prize money, event organisers announced yesterday.
The hugely popular event will be held at the Outdoor Arena of the Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) from February 24 to 27.
Hamad bin Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah, President of QEF, said 15 international entries including Luciana Diniz of Portugal and Abdelkebir Ouaddar or Morocco will join Qatar’s Rio-bound squad at the CSI5* event.
“H H The Emir’s Sword event is going to be a real spectacle this year. It will be a five-star show. The timing of the event will be good for the home riders since Qatar are preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games,” Al Attiyah said.
“It is a five star event so the prize money will be on the higher side. The prize money is QR2.5m. All the top Qatari riders will be at this event,” he said.
“There is going to be international presence. We will have the big names here. Diniz won the Global Champions Tour in Doha. Abdelkebir, the Moroccan star, will be here as well. We are talking about 15 international riders,” Al Attiyah said.
“The entry is free for fans. There are family entertainment areas. It is going to be a three-day event. We will have a number of competitions as you can see in the schedule.
“Competitions will start around 1pm. It is the first time that the Emir’s Sword event will be a 5-star event. Nine classes and seven of them are ranking classes. The Grand Prix will be A class,” Al Attiyah said. The QEF president said the next six months will be key for the Qatari riders.
“Yes, we are so close (to the Olympic Games). We are talking about the fact that we are six months away from the Games but we are looking at it as if we are just two months away from the Olympics,” Al Attiyah said.
“Qatari riders will be in Al Ain for the Four Nations (this week). Then they will come here for this Emir Sword event and before going to to CHI Al Shaqab (March 2 to 5). Some of them will continue at the Doha Tour in March. In between we will have a show in Paris - the Hermes event, another CSI5* event,” he said.
Al Attiyah said Qatar will be aiming for gold at Rio Olympic Games.
“That’s our target,” Al Attiyah said.
“We always looks for first place. It is a sport after all. We have support from the H H the Emir, the Qatar Olympic Committee and our stakeholders.
“We will be attempting to win the medal but it is not an easy game since we are competing against riders who have been in this sport for 20-30 years.
“Our riders are still young. They can give more. They have done well in the last two years. What they have done is what riders do in 10 years,” he said.
“They (Qatari riders) are in training mode. Let’s say the riders have not been on vacation for two years. They are forever in training. Soon they will be in Europe as they prepare for the Olympic Games.
“While we are talking about Olympics let me add that when we say we are preparing for the Games, it doesn’t mean we are just training. This means we could be in training, we could be at a competition or we could be doing some show.
“We won’t be going to Rio for any kind of training or event before the Games. We have a flight from Europe to Rio, so they need to stay with their horses while they train and compete in Europe.
“Once their horses are ready to be flown to Rio, the riders will move a few days before them. They have to welcome the horses and start training in Rio (closer to the Games),” Al Attiyah said.
The Peninsula
