Qatar: CHI AL SHAQAB is welcoming Olympic horses and riders to Qatar

11 March 2014

The annual event is sponsored by ExxonMobil and Qatar Airways and remains the only CHI-level competition in the Middle East and Asia, with jumping, dressage, vaulting and endurance competitions.

Fahad Al Qahtani, President of AL SHAQAB, said: “Qatar has an illustrious equestrian heritage and we have always placed the highest value on great horsemanship. AL SHAQAB is honoured to welcome some of the world’s finest competitors to what we anticipate will be a magnificent tournament.”

“As a member of this community, we believe we have a responsibility to the State of Qatar and its people to support events of cultural and traditional significance that highlight as well as preserve Qatar’s unique heritage, while drawing attention to Doha and all that it has to offer,” said Bart Cahir, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar Inc.

The horses, among them Olympic winners, arrived via two special flights by Qatar Airways, partner airline of CHI AL SHAQAB 2014. Omar Al Mannai, Event Director of CHI AL SHAQAB confirms that the riders are also beginning to arrive and show organisers are working around the clock to ensure the event runs smoothly and provides an enthralling experience for all involved.

This year, the competition features vaulting for the first time. Vaulting is growing in popularity as an equestrian sport and is often described as gymnastics on horseback. The event sees athletes deliver freestyle movements to music whilst on the horse and is judged on precision, aesthetics and fluidity of movement. Barbara Toro, Vaulting Discipline Manager said “It’s fantastic that vaulting is featuring in such a prestigious event as CHI AL SHAQAB and especially that we have been able to attract stars, including Jasmin Lindner and Lukas Wacha of Austria who are the current World Champions in the Pas de Deux. There was a vaulting demonstration from Team Neuss at last year’s event which was very popular with spectators and we are pleased to be able to showcase more of this fantastic sport.” The Vaulters will be competing for a total of 60.000 Euros in prize money and are split into Male individual, Female individual, Squad and Pas de Deux categories.

The history of dressage is firmly rooted in military horse training and became a recognised sport in the early 1900s. The discipline involves the rider guiding the horse through a series of movements whilst maintaining complete composure. Last year, we saw a fantastic display with Princess Nathalie Zu Sayn Wittgenstein wowing the judges and taking the top spot in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix freestyle on Digby. She will no doubt be hoping for a repeat performance this year. Of last year’s competition, returning rider Patrik Kittel said “The competition is fantastic and the hospitality is really great and luxurious”. The dressage riders will hope to scoop a share of the 200,000 Euro prize money which is split between the Grand Prix, the Grand Prix Freestyle and the Grand Prix Special competitions.

Show jumping requires both horse and rider to jump a course of coloured fences in the correct order, the fences are both high and wide and require bravery, athletism and technical ability. Show jumping is very popular in Qatar and nearly 40 Qatari riders will compete in this year’s competition, hoping to win part of the total 985,000 Euro prize money, which is shared between 12 competitions. Ali Bin Khalid Al Thani who took part in last year’s event and will return to this year, said: “CHI AL SHAQAB is a treasure of experience for local riders, trainers and organisers. Qatar has acclaimed global attention, thanks to its ambitious vision in the field of sport.”

The endurance racing, which will take place in Mesaieed, sees riders and horses competing over a 120km desert course for 200,000 Euro prize money. A great emphasis is placed on horse welfare, with the winner not just being judged on the being the fastest but also the best condition horse and regular stops for checks by veterinarians are required. Last year’s winner Saif Ahmed Al Mozroui very much enjoyed last year’s event saying “I’m delighted to win the race here and want to thank the committee for holding such a nice race.”

Source: CHI Al Shaqab