UAE showjumpers crowned regional champions

Abu Dhabi : UAE showjumpers tied for fourth place with Italy in Thursday's Nations Cup at Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club, a result which saw them crowned regional champions and qualify for the FEI Nations Cup Promotional League to be held in Barcelona from September 16 to 19.

If the UAE finish in the top two in that season-ending finale they will qualify for the FEI Nations Cup in 2011.

Despite the UAE finishing behind champions Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, it was still a dream come true as the UAE team will now be bidding to make it into the elite group.

Shaikha Latifa Al Maktoum, one of the UAE's top showjumpers, once again impressed with just one penalty point in the first round and no faults in the second, riding Kalaska De Semilly.

The other team members were Shaikh Shakbout Bin Mubarak Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan on Muscaris D'Ariel, Shaikh Majid Al Qasimi on Co-Jack and Mohammad Al Hajri on Shakira.

Shaikh Shakbout, who was also the team's Chef d'Equipe, said, "It is very significant as this is the first time we are regional winners of the Nations Cup. We had a wonderful start. We are now concentrating on the next Nations Cup. But the most significant factor is that we have now qualified to take part in Barcelona and some, if not all of us, are going to represent our country there."

The Emirates Equestrian Federation's Taleb Daher Al Muhairi was equally elated and said, "It is a moment of triumph for us as the UAE's young riders finished fourth competing against the world's best teams.

Future

"They are our future and I'm sure the same team will be able to compete at the Olympic Games. We will provide them with the maximum support from the Federation to help them achieve more success all over the world," the UAE official said.

The FEI delegate Captain John Roche said, "The UAE Federation has done a fantastic job and it is indeed a good start with the UAE finishing fourth. It's a new team full of young riders and there are many more tournaments for them to participate in. The sky is the limit for them."

Al Hajri, UAE team member, said, "It was good experience. I have been watching some of my fellow riders from other countries from as young as eight years old and today I'm jumping along with them.

"It was an international field and we have a lot to learn from them and gain good experience. We have taken bits and pieces from every rider to improve our performance and eventually it bore fruit."