DOHA: Qatar’s top riders - aiming for 2016 Olympic glory - will test their form against names like Edwina Tops-Alaxander and Abdelkabir Ouaddar at the three-day Emir’s Sword show jumping event which carries a whopping sum of QR2.5m in prize money.
The five-star event will commence today with three competitions - the first starting at 1pm, organisers said yesterday.
Turkish riders Derin Demirsoy and Omer Karaveli will join Russia’s Vladimir Tuganov and Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Alsharbatly at the five-star event.
Hamad bin Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah, President of QEF, said the 15 international entries also include Luciana Diniz of Portugal.
Qatar’s Rio-bound Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi, Khalid Al Emadi, Ali Bin Khalid Al Thani and Bassem Hassan Mohammed will also feature at the event over the course of next three days.
“The prize money is high because the riders will be competing for the Emir’s Sword, the biggest show jumping event staged by Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF),” Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Attiyah, President of QEF, said yesterday.
The second competition of the day will commence at 4:30pm while the third and final contest kicks off at 6:30pm.
Al Attiyah said QEF has increased the number of events held in Doha primarily because home riders needed maximum exposure in their build-up to the Rio Games in August 2016.
“This year we have a lot of events at the federation premises and at Al Shaqab. We have the Doha Tour and the final event in Katara,” Al Attiyah explained.
“Our riders will also be competing in Europe. They compete in five-star events. After this event, they will head to CHI Al Shaqab and then travel back to Europe to prepare for the Olympic Games,” Al Attiyah said.
“There’s a deadline for us to name the horses next month. We have to find one or two best horses. It is not easy to find the best horses but we are doing our best,” Al Attiyah said.
“One of our targets was to qualify for the Olympic Games and we got that (in February 2015). The other target was something to do to reach the podium at Rio. We are looking for the gold medal at Rio and we will be working towards that target,” Al Attiyah said. Al Attiyah said: “All the top Qatari riders will be at this event.” He added: “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 QEF had arranged for family areas at the Outdoor Arena, the venue of the three-day event. He said entry into the venue is free for fans. “It is the first time that the Emir’s Sword event will be a 5-star event. The stakes are higher for the riders. Nine classes and seven of them are ranking classes, as you can see from the schedule. The Grand Prix will be A class,” Al Attiyah said.
Al Attiyah yesterday signed a sponsorship agreement with Nissan Saleh Al Mana Co who are supporting the event to a tune of QR 500,000.
Hisham bin Saleh Al Mana, Chairman & Managing Director of Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Company said: “This is a prestigious show jumping event. It gives us great thrill to be part of this three-day event.” He added: “Such high profile events help encourage Qatari youth to showcase their riding skills and develop their potential.”
“With this sponsorship we seek to build a closer and long-term relationship with the Qatar Equestrian Federation as well as with the community. Qatar is emerging as an exceptional sporting region and equestrian sports are part of Qatar and the Arab world’s heritage.
“H H the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is keen to support sports activities in our country and therefore it is our responsibility to support those activities that contribute to the development of our community,” Al Mana said.
“We hope that our partnership with QEF will open the doors for more opportunities for collaboration and will encourage other entities to follow suit in supporting community service and Qatar heritage, thereby helping Qatar achieve the development goals to which we aspire.
“We wish every success for QEF at the local and global levels,” Al Mana said. The Peninsula
