Dubai: Within minutes of talking to Shaikh Ali Abdullah Al Qasimi, the UAE’s leading show jumper, you realise he is brutally honest and candid, the essentials of a good interview.
No one can tell you everything, or tell it like it is. But as Shaikh Ali describes the key experiences of his sporting career you get to realise he has found the right balance between success and failure.
And its refreshing to hear him admit that he has had his fair share of both.
So, when Shaikh Ali says an Olympic medal is his ultimate goal, you sit up and listen, even as he endeavours to put his mission in life into context.
“I have goals like every athlete,” he says in a measured tone. “But my biggest goal is to reach the Olympic Games and win an Olympic medal.\
“It is a difficult target, but not an impossible one, provided you have the right passion, dedication and ability.
“I was fortunate to have participated in the FEI Children’s World Cup Final in Canada in 2006, where I was adjudged the ‘Best Rider’. That accomplishment triggered my ambition and I want to compete the journey by taking that success to the senior level by winning a medal at the World Equestrian Games in North Carolina next year,” Shaikh Ali adds.
“But my main target will always be the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.”
That comment left me with plenty to think about. "You sound supremely confident, Shaikh Ali," I offered in a searching manner.
Confidence
“I have the confidence and I really know what I am capable of achieving,” came the spontaneous, straight-from-the-heart reply.
“Let me tell you something a lot of people don’t know. In 2014 I had a really bad year. I had qualified for the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, where I was determined to excel. Following a six month training camp in Holland I was ready to deliver my best effort on the international stage.
“But tragedy struck. Just two weeks before the Games my horse picked up a virus and passed away. I was devastated. One day I was riding high and the next I was brought crashing down to earth,” he added.
“It hurt, but what happened in Normandy made me a stronger person. And I promised myself not to lose faith. I started all over again and here I am in 2017, having once against qualified for the 2018 World Equestrian Games by winning two major events — including the Union Cup Grand Prix International Show in Al Ain and the Dubai Grand Prix.”
Shaikh Ali’s optimism and hunger for success, are palpable and I am overwhelmed by his passion for his sport and his will to succeed.
What fuels this extraordinary hunger, I ask nervously?
“This is how it’s supposed to be with every sportsman,” he says in a matter-of-fact manner. “Once a sportsman loses the hunger it’s over. Sometimes you need to have bad days, to lose in order to improve and realise your mistakes.
“If I tell you my goal is to reach the Olympics, I’m telling you this because I know that I have the hunger, talent and capability to get there. However, I am very realistic about the peripheral things surrounding such a mission. You need the right horse, the proper training, good sponsors, a good support team, and many other things.
“I know that it’s not easy to win an Olympic medal. But I’m hopeful, provided I get the right people that can encourage me to reach my goal.”
Long hard road
It is a long hard road to qualify for the Games as there are just two individual slots for Arab riders and four for the team.
Qualifying for Tokyo will only begin next year and Ali says he hopes to be ready and be at his best to qualify as an individual athlete or as part of the team.
“After Normandy, the challenge was to find the right horse,” Ali reveals. “I now have an animal I believe in and who believes in me. Together we have achieved a lot of success over the last ten months or so. I have been winning major trophies, and like I said earlier, I have qualified for the World Equestrian Games.
“For me it’s not just an achievement. I think it is much more of a story that I have been building all through the season, with a new horse, and hopefully it will all end well.”
