A horse is being put through its paces during a warm-up session ahead of the Al Rayyan Show Jumping Championship
A whopping QR 1.35m is up for grabs at this week's Al Rayyan Show Jumping Championship which commences with three of the nine scheduled competitions today.
According to details released by the Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) yesterday, the December 29-31 event will conclude on Saturday with riders aiming for the Grand Prix title worth QR 650,00 to the winner.
Riders from more than 15 countries will be seen in action today when the championships kicks off proceedings with a two-phased run in the 120cm class at QEF's Main Arena.
This week's show jumping event is the second in as many weeks.
Last week Demir Demirsory of Turkey won the Grand Prix with his ride Cheril. Demirsoy walked home richer by QR650,000.
Hamad bin Abdulrahman al Attiyah, President of QEF, yesterday said: "The Al Rayyan Show Jumping Championship is a popular event on the FEI calendar. We saw exciting battles last year. We expect a similar intensity among the riders this week also."
"What this event has done is it has given a platform to the riders in the region to showcase their jumping skills," Al Attiyah said in an interview with Al Kass website.
"Obviously the Qatari riders also benefit from participating at such events. But overall the Qatari riders have done well in recent years, notably qualifying for the show jumping competitions at the Olympic Games in Rio this year," he said.
"Qatari riders are clearly moving ahead by producing good results," he said.
"We will be monitoring their performances and giving them confidence. This is an important time for us. We need to keep our preparations very thorough," he added.
"With ranking points at stake, we will see a high level of competition among home riders and international entries," Al Attiyah said
In December last year, the Grand Prix at the Qatar International Show Jumping Championship was won by Qatar's Bassem Hassan Mohammed.
Besides Bassem, Qatar this week will be represented by Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi, Khalid Al Emadi and Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani among many others.
The same quartet eventually reached the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
"We have lined up a series of international and local events. Equestrian enjoys complete support of the government," Al Attiyah said.
Saeed Al Shafi, the Secretary-General of QEF, said: "We were pleased to see the performances of our riders last week. The Qatari riders keep improving every time we them in action."
Last week's riding hero Dermirsoy said: "The events in Doha are second to none. I like competing here. Yes, I will start afresh at Al Rayyan Championship."
Qatari rider Al Emadi said: "I am happy to be competing at this home event. I have been close to winning the big events. I will try to minimise my mistakes and get the desired results for Qatar."
Qatar is widely considered as an emerging nation in the equestrian world, particularly in the sport of show jumping.
The QEF was established in 1979 and recognized by the International Equestrian Federation as the nation’s official governing body.
The QEF’s objective is to promote and support equestrian sport and the nation’s equestrian athletes as well as encouraging new talents.
