Al Shaqab and QEF launch new equestrian competition

In an ambitious effort to popularise the equestrian sport in Qatar, Al Shaqab and Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) have tied-up to start a new series of equestrian competition named ‘Hathab’.
A brainchild of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, the President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, the 12-leg series is open for Qatari nationals and also to residents of Qatar.
The series, to be held either at Al Shaqab or Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor arena, will be spread across seven months with the final leg to be conducted next April. A total of QR1mn in prize money will be on offer for the competitors.
The competition will kick-off this weekend, with the first-leg to be held at Al Shaqab arena from October 12th to 14th. Results of the competition will be used in the selection process of riders to represent Qatar in future international competitions. Each leg will carry points, with only top seven results to be counted, and an overall will be declared at the end of series.
The events will held in both show jumping and dressage and will consist of five categories: Future Riders Program (6-12 years old), Children (12-14 years old); Junior (Small Tour 14-18 years old), Young Rider (Medium Tour 16-21 years old) and Senior (Big Tour- over 21-year-old).
The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) rules will be followed and all competitions will be shown live on Al Kass channel.
‘Hathab’, which means ‘Canter’ in Arabic aims to improve the standard of horse riding among Qatari youths, while also encouraging the involvement of private stables and individual horse owners to grow awareness of horsemanship as part of Qatar’s history and tradition.
Al Shaqab’s commercial manager Omar al-Mannai said the vision for Hathab is to be a national series of equestrian competitions to inspire Qatar’s next generation of international champions.
“It’s an historical and strategic partnership between Al Shaqab and QEF. This is an idea of HE Sheikh Joaan to promote the sport in Qatar and take it to the highest level in Qatar. It will provide us opportunities to grow,” he said.
Al-Mannai also hoped that new series will inspire younger generation to take up the sport. “That is one of the main motives of Al Shaqab and QEF. One of our sponsors Woqod wants to be part of the journey in developing young generation and initiate them to take up equestrian as sport.
The Al Shaqab’s commercial manager said there has been lot of requests to include dressage competition. “The Future Riders events will have both dressage and jumping. There have been plenty of requests from women to include dressage events and the federation intends to do it.” al-Mannai added
He also said that 12-leg series will help create opportunities in various other fields. “Beyond the competition, we are also using the event to engage the community through local sponsorships and encouraging local entrepreneurship by providing food & beverage sales opportunities. More importantly, Qatari trainees will also be engaged to help in various functional areas to provide them with the necessary experience to organize future events of a similar nature,” said al-Mannai.
Event Director of QEF, Ali al-Rumaihi, who represented Qatar in the Rio Olympics last year, said: “Hathab will provide a structured competition which will ensure continuity in organising local equestrian competitions. It will also be the first time that a points system will be implemented with defined participants for each class of competition. In addition, prize monies will be awarded to horse owners in order to encourage horse ownership and more Qataris to be involved with the sport”

Competition details
Riding Disciplines: Show jumping & Dressage
Competition Categories:
1. Future Riders Program (6-12 years old)
2. Children (12-14 years old)
3. Junior (Small Tour 14-18 years old)
4. Young Rider (Medium Tour 16-21 years old)
5. Senior (Big Tour- over 21-year-old).
Period of Competition: 2nd week of October 2017 – April 2018
Eligible Participants: All Qatari and residents of Qatar registered with QEF