Qatar
Equestrian Federation (QEF) is preparing to organise Qatar and Al
Rayyan International Show Jumping championships at the QEF’s outdoor
arena in Al Rayyan, with prizes carrying up to one million and 700,000
Qatari riyals.
The two competitions are classified under the four
stars category and will be under the aegis of Federation Equestre
Internationale (FEI), and is one of the Arab League qualifying rounds
for the next World Cup. The Qatar International Championship will be
held this weekend from Thursday to Saturday, with the Al Rayyan
championship be held for three days from November 23th to 25th.
The
Qatari team has prepared very well for this tournament in order to
achieve the best results, having had a long training stint in Europe.
Qatar
successfully hosted the final round of the Longines Global Champions
Tour, which concluded on Saturday at Al Shaqab, with the participation
of the world’s best riders and horses. To top it all, Qatar’s Bassem
Hassan Mohamed clinched the Grand Prix of Doha, the feature event to
become the first Qatari to win at home soil.
QEF Secretary General
Badr Mohamed al-Darwish said that the two international championships
will witness the participation of the best horsemen in the region,
adding that the Federation has prepared well to make these two
championship competitions a success.
Al-Darwish noted that fourth and
fifth rounds of the national equestrian series ‘Hathab’, organised by
the QEF and Al Shaqab, will be held along with two international events.
Hathab
is an initiative of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, the President
of the Qatar Olympic Committee. It is aimed at improving the standard of
horse riding among Qatari youths while encouraging the involvement of
private stables and individual horse owners to grow awareness of
horsemanship as part of Qatar‘s history and tradition.
Bassem Hassan Mohamed, who won the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Doha at Al Shaqab arena on Saturday, will be in action at the Qatar International Show Jumping championships this weekend.