Participants ahead of the Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines 2022, which begins today at state-of-the-art Al Shaqab arena.
Doha: The prestigious Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines 2022 begins today, promising exciting action as world’s best riders combined with home talent look for glory at state-of-the-art Al Shaqab arena.
As many as 95 riders from 24 countries and 146 elite competition horses will compete in the three-day championship in three disciplines — showjumping, dressage and para dressage.
The ninth edition of CHI Al Shaqab will see six riders from world’s top 10 stars, who are ready to amuse fans at Al Shaqab, which will operate at 75 percent capacity as part of COVID-19 protocols.
World No.1 Tokyo Olympics gold medallst Fredricson is leading the star-studded line-up and the Swede will be challenged by last year’s five-star Grand Prix winner Germany’s Christian Ahlmann and Switzerland’s World No.2 Martin Fuchs.
A host of former CHI Al Shaqab champions and top-ranked riders, including Great Britain’s Scott Brash, Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander and Belgium’s Pieter Devos are also taking part in the event.
Qatar riders look to excel against global stars
Meanwhile, four Qatar riders will also be seen in action as they target strong performance in presence of big names.
In-form Hamad Nasser Al Qadi, who won his second successive Amir’s Sword title last week, will lead the home charge along with Nasser Al Ghazali and Faleh Suwead Al Ajami.
Also representing the hosts will be Wejdan Majed Al Malki, who will compete in the dressage. Al Malki will make history as she will become the first Qatari woman to feature in a five-star event. The 44-year-old has competed in the 2006 Doha Asian Games before but she said it would be a different challenge to perform in front of a home crowd.
“I am excited and at the same time a bit nervous,” she said yesterday.
“But, still it will be a proud day for me to compete against world class riders. My aim is to qualify for the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris and this experience will help me achieve that goal. I also want to participate at the FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) World Cup events. These tournaments will be an important step in my career,” said Al Malki, who has been training in Europe.
Al Qadi, who will be riding the same 14-year-old stallion Andreas SPB Z with which he won the Amir’s Sword, said the CHI Al Shaqab experience will help him to prepare for this year’s Asian Games.
“It won’t be easy but at the same time it will give me a good exposure ahead of this year’s Asian Games. Andreas has been amazing so far. He is a bit slow because of his age, but he is experienced and does not make too many mistakes,” he said.
Al Ghazali, meanwhile, is making a return to the prestigious event after a gap of six years. The 26-year-old has recently recovered from a serious injury he suffered last year after falling from the horse in the first round of Hathab. He hoped for a good show after an impressive performance at the HH Amir Sword Equestrian Festival last week.
“It’s good to be back. The last couple of competitions have gone well for me. I am feeling good after the injury. Post recovery I am in good shape. I want to thank Aspetar, they took good care of me,” said Al Ghazali, who will ride mare What A Pleasure.
Meanwhile, Omar Al Mannai, Event Director, Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines, and Commercial Manager, Al Shaqab, said Qatari riders will gain valuable experience from the event.
“It will help them to prepare for major international events in the future,” said Al Mannai.
“It’s like a mini World Cup. The competition is expected to be very high with a lot of challenge from the riders to win,” he added.
Al Mannai also stressed that this is the first time that an American team is also here and is generating a lot of interest.
“We also have participants with special needs, who are exceptionally skilled and bring a lot of excitement as well.”
CHI Al Shaqab is the only CHI (Concours Hippique International) event to be held in the Middle East. Only five such events take place worldwide.
