Normandy: Saeed Al Tayer, Meydan Chairman and CEO who is the Chef d’Equipe of the UAE team at the World Equestrian Games, believes that several factors contributed to the UAE’s gold medal-winning success at the event.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, emulated his father His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, when he eclipsed a strong field in the 160km endurance ride at Normandy on Thursday.
Al Tayer, a former world powerboat champion, said that it required a lot of commitment from Shaikh Hamdan and the support of his team to achieve the landmark victory.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Gulf News:
Q: How special was this gold medal victory by Shaikh Hamdan on a stage like the World Equestrian Games?
A: We’ve been chasing gold medals for a long time and have reached that level on numerous occasions. The beauty about this one is that it was completing back-to-back wins for the UAE. We won the World Endurance Championship in Euston Park in England two years ago, won magnificently by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and now Shaikh Hamdan has won the gold medal at the World Equestrian Games.
Q: What were the confidence levels of the UAE team coming to these Games?
A: This championship everybody came prepared. We knew that we had all the knowhow and the experience of preparing the horses, especial the horse [Yamamah] ridden by Shaikh Hamdan, which was overseen by Shaikh Mohammad. So we were very confident about the level of all the horses that we brought in to Normandy.
Q: What was it that stood out about the way Shaikh Hamdan performed on the big stage?
A: What made it even more beautiful is that the challenge was very strong, all day, and Shaikh Hamdan with his experience, him being a champion before, was able to deliver a unique performance. He distributed the energy of the horse over 160 kilometres, he knew when to push, he knew when to protect the horse, he really did an amazing job. As a nation, we’re very happy to be part of this.
Q: How would you rate this performance by Shaikh Hamdan, compared to the other great rides he has produced?
A: I think Shaikh Hamdan, with his level of riding, has proven again that he is the best rider in the world. There was a lot of challenge, lot of new rules and restrictions, so it was not going to be easy, the odds were against him, but he delivered.
Q: Do you think that the new rules and challenges brought out the best in Shaikh Hamdan?
A: The new five loop rule meant that your horse would have to compete over long distances at a stretch and there was always going to be less time to hydrate and even if you had a rest between loops, it was still going to be a big challenge. A lot of it had to do with the training and also how the rider handled the course against the course and the other rivals.
Q: Shaikh Hamdan dominated the rider right from the word go. Not many horsemen have achieved this level of control?
A: His father did that at Euston Park, he was in the lead early. Shaikh Hamdan knew this course like the back of his hand because he trained on it. It’s a very technical course and there was little or no room for error. He had it in his mind that to be competitive, and to have a shot at winning, he must be in the lead from the beginning as that would put pressure on the others who started to chase and may have been forced into making mistakes. And that also in a way resulted in many horses and riders dropping out as some of them just could not stay with his pace.
Q: There is always talk about endurance races being technical, could you explain please?
A: In endurance, it’s not just the pace but how you handle the pace. You push in some stages of the loop and then you go to your normal speed. I think in Shaikh Hamdan’s case, that strategy tested the others and some of them were stretched to the maximum and then the consequences were there. He eventually won by over 10 minutes, that’s a huge gap in this business.
Q: How pleased was Shaikh Hamdan to win the gold medal?
A: He’s the happiest person in the world because he did it for his country, his father and for himself. At one stage, even when the other four UAE riders were eliminated, we knew we could count on him. And he came through. He came here to win.
Q: Being a world champion yourself [F1 powerboating] you know the feeling of winning at the highest level. What was the experience of watching Shaikh Hamdan cross the line first?
A: I felt like I was racing with him. I may not be able to ride physically (laughs) but I was with the UAE team in spirit. Shaikh Hamdan, the team, Esmail [Mohammad], the trainer, who has been working with this horse, caring for this horse for the last 3-4 years.
Q: So it was a team effort?
A: It’s team work, you can’t win at this level without the support of your team. You can’t do it one part and leave the other part. At the end of the day you need that rider with the knowhow, the experience to execute and Shaikh Hamdan executed a flawless performance.
Q: What has been Shaikh Mohammad’s involvement in the UAE team at the Games?
A: Shaikh Mohammad is always supportive of this sport — as he is with all sport in general. Be it flat racing or endurance, anything to do with horses is very close to his heart. He always knows what’s going on and he was enjoying watching his son put up that fantastic display of riding and winning. I’m sure he was as thrilled as his son.
