Abu Dhabi: Twenty-two-year-old Maitha Mohammad Al Hajri will be one of the top Emirati riders who will be leading the UAE’s challenge at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy (FBMA) International Show Jumping Cup to be held from February 24-25 at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.

“On behalf of all the riders I would like to say this challenge has improved over the years. We have got a lot of attention towards us as Emirati ladies as well,” said Maitha, who is honing her skills under the supervision of top World Cup rider Abdullah Al Marri, during the press briefing to announce the event.

She also went on to add that the competition is a great opportunity for a lot of young riders to come and participate.

“People working with young horses and developing them also have got an opportunity to showcase themselves in a great competition. Finally, we had the FEI World Ranking Fest and that allowed the ladies to compete with such a high class field,” revealed Maitha, who will be riding Alaska and Babs Du Rouet in this competition.

“I’m sponsored by Shaikha Latifa bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and I will be riding the horses owned by her. Alaska is my main horse that I competed with in the ranking class last year and another mare Babs Du Rouet will also be there. My main competitive horse is Alaska and I hope I will be able to win the competition with her,” revealed Maitha, who is expecting a fierce competition from veteran rider Marion Hughes of Ireland.

“Marion competed in the Olympics and she has been competing even before I was born. So she has a lot of experience and I consider her as one of my main competitor,” said Maitha adding that, it doesn’t mean the Emirati riders are far behind.

“I don’t think that us as Emirati riders have any disadvantage; we have beaten them on different occasion and it all comes down to who can do it on that day,” added Maitha, who will be battling it out against 120 riders from over 20 countries.

Dr Mai Ahmad Al Jaber, Board member at FBMA, expressed their gratitude and appreciation to Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, for her continuous support to Emirati women. “The FBMA International Show Jumping Cup remains one of the top sports events on FBMA’s calendar, and we are delighted that the event has achieved global prominence as a major equestrian meeting in the UAE and the Middle East over recent years,” said Dr Mai adding that this year’s participation reflects their continuous efforts of engaging more UAE women in sports.

“A central goal for FBMA is to inspire Emirati women by empowering them to pursue leading roles in the sporting world and through the International Show Jumping Cup, we hope to continue enabling the women of our Nation to reach their goals,” felt Dr Mai, who also informed that the fourth edition of the Cup will witness the launch of the “Equestrian Village”, a new interactive village full of fun and educational equestrian activities which aim at engaging the visitors with the sport that has traditional roots in the Emirati culture. Similar to last year, this year’s Cup will see junior and male riders compete alongside female riders in the categories of Children, Juniors, Young Horses, Young Riders, and Ladies 2*.