The UAE's new equestrian season under starter's orders

Abu Dhabi: The UAE's equestrian season 2008-09 starts today with a two-day show jumping championship in Sharjah.

The competition is being held at the Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club's show jumping arena under the patronage of the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, the governing body of equestrian sport in the country.

The 2008-09 equestrian season runs through until April 2009 and has plenty of events organised.

The equestrian events begin ahead of the endurance season, which is scheduled to start on November 1, and the flat-racing year that should begin on November 6.

Four events

Today's opening day competition is set to feature four events, which are Clear Round Jumping with Style (Class 1D), One Round Not Against the Clock (Class 2, C2), Clear Round Jumping (Class 3, B3) and Clear Round Jumping (Class 4, A3).

The second day will feature Clear Round Jumping with Style (Class 5 D), Two Phases (Class No 6 C2), Two Phases (Class No 7 B2) and One Round with Jump-off (Class No 8 A2)

The calendar for the new season features 29 competitions with the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club hosting 10 of them 10 while Sharjah Racing Club is set to stage eight events.

The UAE will also host the qualifying rounds for the World Cup Arab League 2009 in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

One of the highlights of the 2007-08 show jumping season was Shaikha Latifa Bint Ahmad Al Maktoum's participation at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.