Guangzhou: The UAE's lone equestrienne Farah Al Khojai is brimming with confidence as she attempts qualifying in the dressage competition over the next two days at the 16th Guangzhou Asian Games here.
"For me this is a dream come true. I am anxious, but I know I have worked hard to be here and now it is time for me to go after what I have been preparing for all these months," Al Khojai told Gulf News after the horse inspection was held yesterday.
The individual dressage competition gets under way at the Guangzhou Equestrian Venue here from this afternoon.
Biggest advantage
This will be followed by Round A from 1pm on Monday and Round B from 1pm on Wednesday. At the end of two rounds, the rider and horse with the best scores will be declared the winner.
"My biggest advantage is my horse Dubai Duty Free Whisper," Al Khojai said.
"We have a rare bond between us and this is going to take us places during this competition," she added.
The individual dressage has four entries each from the hosts, Japan, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia, while India has three and Hong Kong has two among the 23 participants.
"The home riders will always have an advantage," Al Khojai admitted.
"But I will keep a total focus in ensuring we go after a medal," she added.
One of the world's oldest sporting activities, together with horse riding, competitive dressage involves an increasingly difficult series of routines designed to show the suppleness, obedience and strength of the horse, and control, precision and expertise of the rider.
Yesterday morning was the inspection of the horses and Al Khojai was happy that Dubai Duty Free Whisper showed the same eagerness that happens to be his strong point in many competitions before this.
"Ours is a special partnership and we depend on each other. I am confident he will give all that I ask him to," she added.
