Doha Tour to be held over three legs

Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) president Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah has said the Doha Tour, which will be held in three legs this year, could be extended to six legs from next year.Doha Tour is the first of its kind in the Arab World. For the first time, this year’s programme will involve three legs of the competition being staged at three different venues. It is a competition open to riders from all over the world but it attracts a number of Qatari and Saudi competitors of different skill levels.Till last year the Doha Tour was a national equestrian competition. But this year the prestigious CHI Al Shaqab, which begins today, will host the opening event of the Doha Tour.The first part of this prestigious competition will be at CSI3* level and will run concurrently with the other international competitions taking place in the spectacular arena here at Al Shaqab.“We are pleased that Doha Tour has become an international event. But we are hoping to add three more rounds from next year and provide more opportunities to our regional riders,” said al-Attiyah yesterday.The QEF will host the second leg from March 10-12, which will offer a CSI2* and a CSI4* competition. The third and final event takes place at Katara where, again, there will be a CSI2* and a CSI4* competition from March 24-26. “We will be setting up an arena at Katara, which should make for an interesting viewing,” added the QEF president.  The championship trophy will be awarded to the overall winning rider who has won the most points over the three events.Yesterday, the Qatar National Bank (QNB) signed an agreement with QEF to extend its support for the event.QNB has been a long-time partner of the QEF and sponsors its major events. QNB’s representative Salem Anzan al-Nuaimi, who signed the agreement with al-Attiyah, said: “QNB has a close relationship with the Qatar Equestrian Federation and it will continue to grow in future. QNB will keep supporting QEF’s events and help raise the profile of equestrian sport,” he said.On his part, the QEF president thanked QNB for sponsoring the Doha Tour, stressing that the support will help the events to reach the higher level.