QEF set to host Qatar, Al Rayyan equestrian championships

QatarEquestrian Federation (QEF) is preparing to organise Qatar and AlRayyan International Show Jumping championships at the QEF’s outdoorarena in Al Rayyan, with prizes carrying up to one million and 700,000Qatari riyals.The two competitions are classified under the fourstars category and will be under the aegis of Federation EquestreInternationale (FEI), and is one of the Arab League qualifying roundsfor the next World Cup. The Qatar International Championship will beheld this weekend from Thursday to Saturday, with the Al Rayyanchampionship be held for three days from November 23th to 25th.TheQatari team has prepared very well for this tournament in order toachieve the best results, having had a long training stint in Europe.Qatarsuccessfully hosted the final round of the Longines Global ChampionsTour, which concluded on Saturday at Al Shaqab, with the participationof the world’s best riders and horses. To top it all, Qatar’s BassemHassan Mohamed clinched the Grand Prix of Doha, the feature event tobecome the first Qatari to win at home soil. QEF Secretary GeneralBadr Mohamed al-Darwish said that the two international championshipswill witness the participation of the best horsemen in the region,adding that the Federation has prepared well to make these twochampionship competitions a success.Al-Darwish noted that fourth andfifth rounds of the national equestrian series ‘Hathab’, organised bythe QEF and Al Shaqab, will be held along with two international events.Hathabis an initiative of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, the Presidentof the Qatar Olympic Committee. It is aimed at improving the standard ofhorse riding among Qatari youths while encouraging the involvement ofprivate stables and individual horse owners to grow awareness ofhorsemanship as part of Qatar‘s history and tradition.