General aerial views of the iconic Longines Arena at Al Shaqab, photographed by Azzam Al Manna. The Longines Arena at Al Shaqab will host the opening round of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) from March 4 to 6.
Doha: Just four days after Germany’s Christian Ahlmann stormed to CHI Al Shaqab Doha Grand Prix title win with Dominator 2000 Z, equestrian fans can savour another world-class show jumping event this week.
The opening round of the massively popular Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) will take place at Longines Arena at Al Shaqab from March 4 to 6.
Ahlmann, who won the top prize of €135,300 on Saturday, will join a rich list of riders that include Pieter Devos (Belgium), Marcus Ehning (Germany), Maikel van der Vleuten (Netherlands), Penelope Leprevost (France), Peder Fredricson (Sweden), Edwina Tops-Alexander (Australia), Gregory Wathelet (Belgium) and Eric Lamaze (Canada).
Grand Prix winner Ahlmann and French rider Kevin Staut applauded Qatar for hosting two world-class events.
CHI Al Shaqab Doha Grand Prix winner Christian Ahlmann.
“I am proud to be here. Al Shaqab made it happen in these difficult times. We feel very good and safe here in Qatar,” Ahlmann said after his win on Saturday.
Staut, who won one of the premier show jumping events of the Commerical Bank CHI Al Shaqab last week, also praised Qatar’s initiative to bring back sports delight for fans.
“I want to thank the organisers here because it’s so difficult (to host events) right now. To organise this event at the highest level it’s fantastic,” Staut said on Friday.
Show jumping’s premier horses and riders are already in Qatar’s dazzling capital city for the first round of LGCT 2021.
The thrilling first event of the individual and GCL team Championships promises to be an electrifying launchpad as athletes aim to show their strength in the vast Longines Arena at Al Shaqab, a member of the Qatar Foundation.
A total of 48 international riders are joining the CSI5* event with some of the most dominant names on the circuit present.
And with a golden ticket for the LGCT Super Grand Prix at the GC Prague Play-offs in the forefront of every rider’s mind, the stars of show jumping will be pulling out all the stops to try and land themselves on top of the podium in Doha.
Event Director and Organising Committee Member Omar Al Mannai posing for a photograph with the podium winners of the CSI5* - Grand Prix of Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab Presented by Longines, Christian Ahlmann, Olivier Robert and Niels Bruynseels and officials on Sunday.
Previous LGCT Grand Prix of Doha winners Julien Epaillard (France) and Scott Brash (Great Britain) will be keen to do the double and catapult their way up the overall leaderboard early on in the season. While Qatari rider Salmen Sultan A M Al Suwaidi will be looking for strong results in front of his home crowd.
Last year H H Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser and H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani joined the LGCT Grand Prix prize-giving ceremony and witnessed a spectacular sound and light show which was the perfect finish to the evening of world-class show jumping action.
The health and safety of everyone at Al Shaqab remains the highest priority and strict COVID-19 precautionary measures will be enforced to ensure the safety and well-being of riders, equestrian fans and all who are involved with the event.
In line with the Ministry of Public Health’s COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, the venue capacity will be restricted to 10 percent. Tickets can only be purchased at the venue in person on event days.
All the action will be streamed live on GCTV throughout the event.
