Normandy, France: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, attributed his endurance gold medal at the World Equestrian Games on Thursday to the hard work he and his team have put in over the past year.
Riding the exceptional Australian-bred mare Yamamah, which means “Little Dove” in Arabic, Shaikh Hamdan stamped his authority on his rivals right from the very outset of the gruelling 160-kilometre event to seal an awe-inspiring win.
Shaikh Hamdan thus provided the UAE with a third individual Games gold following the victory of his father Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, at the 2012 Games at Kentucky, USA, and his younger brother Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, at Jerez, Spain, in 2002.
“This is the proudest day of my life, to follow in the footsteps of my father His Highness Shaikh Mohammad and Shaikh Ahmad in winning this precious medal is unbelievable,” he told Dubai Television here in Sartily, France.
“My father has always been supporting and advising me and I could not have done this without his encouragement and the support of the UAE team.
“We came here to win the medal and we did it. But it was not easy. In fact, it was one of the hardest rides that I have taken part in.
“We always knew it was going to be a very tactical ride and the conditions did not help. Many parts of the course were very slippery due to the heavy rain and keeping your horse balanced was not easy.
“However, we have trained very hard for this day, and these sort of challenges, so we were prepared. The course was designed to slow down fast riders, like us. But we were always one step ahead and gained control on the ride early, which put pressure on the other riders and forced them to make mistakes.”
Only 38 riders from the 174 starters finished the ride, with all four of Shaikh Hamdan’s team mates going out, including Shaikh Rashid Dalmouk Al Maktoum, Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri, Saeed Mohammad Khalifa Al Mehari and Abdullah Ganem Al Merri.
Twenty-one year-old Dutch rider Marijke Visser said she was delighted to have won the silver in such a competitive ride.
“This is such a big, big day for me. My horse [Laiza de Jalima] is not a very big animal but his heart is big,” she said of the UAE-owned mare.
European champion Jaume Punti Dachs finished fifth on Novisaad d’Aqui, but led home his compatriots Jordi Arboix Santacreu (sixth on Mystair des Aubus, and Cervera Sanchez-Arnedo (Strawblade, 22nd) to clinch the team gold.
Hosts France took silver with Jean-Philippe Frances (Secret de Mon), Franck Laousse (Niky de la Fontaine) and Nicolas Ballarin (Lemir de Gargassan) finishing eighth, 11th and 12th respectively.
Meanwhile, the Swiss squad of Barbara Lissarrague (4th Preume de Paute), Sonja Fritschi (Okkarina d’Alsace) and Andrea Amacher (Rustik d’Alsace) claimed the bronze.
“This event really deserved the title of World Championships today,” said Brian Sheehan, Chairman of the FEI Endurance Committee.
“There has been a great deal of sportsmanship and cooperation with riders. It’s been a world-class event that I am proud to be associated with.
“This was a World Equestrian Games and the course was extremely technical and extremely challenging.
“The weather made it even tougher and the vets were extremely careful to ensure that the horses were protected at all times, meaning that the number of finishers was unexpectedly low for a championship.”
