Buenos Aires: Despite the absence of some of the leading European teams, the UAE will face a tough challenge in today's World Junior & Young Riders Endurance Championship from some of the rising endurance countries from the region.
Apart from hosts Argentina, who will try to take full advantage of home conditions, the main threat to UAE is likely to come from the riders from Uruguay and Brazil.
Key members of the UAE team arrived late last night including Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Mansour Ahmad Al Subose and Mohammad Ahmad Ali Al Subose while Shaikh Abdullah Bin Faisal Al Qasimi and Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Faisal Al Qasimi, who are already here, took part in an impressive inaugural ceremony earlier on Wednesday evening.
Shaikh Ahmad, Shaikh Mayed, Mansour and Ahmad Ali will be riding horses based in Uruguay, Shaikh Abdullah and Shaikh Abdul Aziz have brought their horses from the UAE.
Good riders
Jaume Punti Dachs, trainer of the UAE team's Uruguayan horses told Gulf News that the main danger will come from the Uruguyan and Brazilian teams.
"They have some good young riders as well as some very good horses which are more suited to these conditions," said the Spanish trainer/rider who is based in Dubai.
Maximiliano Montes, who is one of Argentina's top young riders said he was keen to do well.
"We have trained for almost a year now for this event. Riding horses for us is a way of life," he said, adding that it was riding and not football which was his first love.
With 12 riders in comparison to only six from the other countries, Argentina have a good chance of doing well, though Australia, the team gold medal winners in Bahrain in 2005 are also in the fray.
Meg Wade, one of Australia's top riders is in a new role as Chef d' Equippe and said: "We have only three riders and all will be competing on leased horses from Chile. Jenny Annetts and Sascha Laws-King, who won the team gold in Bahrain are riding here and we have a good chance," said Wade.
Uruguay has pinned its hopes on 14-year-old Ignacio Ospitaleche, a four-time national championship winner.
"I will be riding EO Dubut, which has won the Triple Crown back home. We have prepared well and hoping to make a good impact," he said.
