Dubai: Abdullah Al Sharbatly made clear his intentions for the Emirates Airline Grand Prix, by completing an impressive victory in the Dh413,526 CSI 5*-W Azizi Golden Cup aboard his aptly named 13 year old horse — Crazy Quick.

The competition was a tightly fought affair and featured some big hitters including world number eight Henrik Von Eckermann.

Al Sharbatly has his eyes firmly placed on Saturday’s Emirates Airline Grand Prix, which he has won multiple times in the past. “It was not an easy course, it is designed by Bob Ellis who I believe is one of the best two-course designers in the world. He built it very technical, the combinations were very short, there were difficult lines in the first round, and even the second round was tough. You needed a lot of power, you needed to ride perfect, you needed to be a top rider and you needed a tough horse, otherwise you would have no chance. I hope I can win tomorrow, it will be tough, but I will try.”

Second and third place went to Ramzy Hamad Al Duhaimi, also of Saudi Arabia, riding two horses, High Quality J and Ted.

The Dh114,680 Gulf News Cup CSI5*-W Class was significant for those competing as it offered Longines ranking points.

Great Britain’s Nigel Coupe earned top spot, through a jump-off aboard Golvers Hill, clocking a fault-free 46.49 seconds. Only nine riders went into the jump-off, after they had a penalty-free first round.

Khalid Al Khatri of Bahrain finished second riding 13-year-old Sierra and spoke afterwards about the win and the championship. “I am really happy with this win, there were a lot of really good riders in this class, it was a really technical class and, when I qualified for the jump-off, I tried the best I could, and as fast as I could.

“The Dubai Show Jumping Championship is really great, and each year it improves; I have been coming here since the beginning of the shows here. Five-star events are very important, because it gives us World Cup qualification points, because earlier Arab riders had to travel to Europe to qualify. Now the federation has brought a lot of events to the UAE, especially Dubai with the five-star event, and really good prize money on offer. A lot of big riders from across the world come here to compete because of the great organisation and facilities.”

Twenty-year-old Abdul Rahman Ahmad Ameen of the UAE repeated his first day heroics to win the opening Class of the day — the Dh49,564 Emirates Equestrian Centre Speed Stakes CSI2* on Day 2 of the Dubai Show Jumping Championship 2018, at the Emirates Equestrian Centre in Dubai.

The local rider completed the course in 53.05 seconds, but one fault meant he was penalised four seconds for a final tally of 57.05 seconds, but the very cleverly designed course offered the rider a chance to win despite the penalty.

Speaking later, Ameen said: “For a second day in a row I have won, and I am really happy about this, and I tried my best, and at the end of the day I could achieve this. This course was a table C and, if you have one jump down, you get four seconds added to your time. I had one down and I didn’t expect I would win.”

Next on the agenda was the Dh58,575 Emirates Airline Two Phases CSI2*Class with the top 20 riders standing to qualify to the CSI2* Dubai Equestrian Club Grand Prix on Saturday.

A total of 30 riders were competing, with only seven with penalty-free rounds advancing to the second phase. Saudi Arabia had a top-two finish in the competition, Olympic bronze medallist Khaled Abdul Aziz Al Eid of Saudi Arabia aboard Valuta being the quickest to complete the second phase, clocking 27.36 seconds. Compatriot Sa’ad Al Jamo riding Vici R came in over a second behind. UAE’s 14-year-old representative Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzouqi finished an impressive fifth, four seconds behind the leader.

Al Marzouqi was glad with the result, especially since it came in tough company. “This was not an easy class, with the Olympian from Saudi Arabia and some other great riders, so I am happy to have finished fifth in this class. I hope to be an Olympian rider one day and be the best.”

The EEC facility was buzzing with activity on Friday, as local and expat families visited for a relaxed day out. The EEC made it a free-to-enter event, offering visitors a variety of food and beverage choices available in food truck and stalls serving local and international delicacies. Bouncy castles, pony rides and face painting made it an action-packed affair for the youngest visitors too. Shane the Koala was the most popular with the children, who lined up to pose with the friendly Emirates Airline mascot.

Day two’s entertainment programme saw performances from the Dubai Police Band as well as the Dubai mounted Police. The mounted police showed off a series of extraordinary moves, including horses and their riders jumping through hoops of fire.

The three-day Dubai Show Jumping Festival is highlighted by the Dh646,515 Emirates Airline Dubai Grand Prix. The number of classes has increased to 11 from 7 last year. This includes six CSI5* classes, and five CSI2* classes.

The programme on Saturday will begin at 9 am, with another addition to the programme, the Dh134,861 Dubai Equestrian Club Grand Prix.

Azizi Developments joined long-time EEC partners and fellow Meydan pillar partners Emirates airline, Longines and Gulf News in supporting this prominent international competition.