A rider walks along with a horse at a vet check ahead of the second round of the Hathab Equestrian Series at the Qatar Equestrian Federation arena yesterday.
DOHA: The second round of the hugely popular Hathab Series kicks off today at the Indoor Arena of Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF).
The overall prize money of the event is QR 1m with lesser amounts reserved for the top riders in each competitions.
Individual competitions will be followed by team contests as well in this year’s series.
Today’s action will see contests in the 110/115cm, 120/130cm and 130/145cm.
Last week, promising young Qatari rider Hamad Nasser Al Qadi produced a sublime ride with St Lucia to win the Big Tour event in the season’s opening round of Hathab Series.
Managing a flawless routine, Al Qadi looked in little trouble over a field of 13 riders to seal his win. St Lucia, aged 15, clocked a time of 62.60 seconds as Al Qadi won the top prize of QR 8,750.
It was the new season’s first Big Tour win for any rider.
The 12-leg show jumping series - worth a staggering QR 1m in overall prize money - will alternate between Al Shaqab Arena and Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) Main Arena in Al Rayyan, organisers confirmed.
Hathab, meaning ‘Canter’ in Arabic, is an initiative of H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC).
The series is aimed at improving the standard of horse riding among Qatari youth while encouraging the involvement of private stables and individual horse owners to spread awareness of horsemanship as part of Qatar’s history and tradition.
