The big tour CSI 3* was won by Bassem Hassan Mohammed aboard Anyway II, owned by the QEF. Photo by Graham Gannon
Four classes launched the first day of FEI jumping competition at the CHI Al Shaqab in Doha, Qatar, on March 12th. Bob Ellis (GBR), who set the tracks for the 2012 London Olympics, is the course designer for this major show – the biggest of its kind to date in Asia.
The hot, breezy afternoon began with the small tour CSI3* over a course in the enormous arena that allowed for lots of galloping lines. The big atmosphere rattled some horses and riders (all but one of the 29 entries were Qatari) during this two-phase power-and-speed competition. Twenty-year-old Saeed Nasser Al Qadi was the ultimate winner aboard St. Lucia, a 12-year-old grey Holsteiner mare he has been partnered with for a year. Al Qadi, who trains with Ian Kerr of Ireland at the nearby Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF) riding club, described the course as a bit of an endurance test. “The course was a little bit long and it was hot, so the horses got tired at the end.”
Al Qadi is no stranger to endurance, as he competed in that discipline until two years ago. “I started riding for fun, then rode twice a week and started to really like the horses,” he said. He was asked to join a young riders’ team for the QEF, but his goals are much bigger now. “Next year at this time we need to qualify for the Olympics, and that’s my goal,” stated Al Qadi. Qatar already has two riders qualified for the World Cup Final this April.
A fantastic view of the outdoor arena at the CHI Al Shaqab in Doha, Qatar. Photo by Susan Stafford-Pooley
There are no sport horse breeding progams in place in Qatar, so all show jumpers are sourced elsewhere. “We don’t breed horses, because the weather is so hot and we don’t have green fields, so we just buy horses from outside,” said Al Qadi. ” If anyone wants to breed horses, they do it in Germany or England.”
The big tour CSI 3* which followed was won by Bassem Hassan Mohammed aboard Anyway II, owned by the QEF. Bassem, who qualified for the 2013 FEI World Cup Final with Rosalia La Silla, finishing 31st, and is trained by Jan Tops.
The small tour CSI5* class brought out some more familiar international names including François Mathy Jr., Nicola Philippaerts, Michael Whitaker, Edwina Tops-Alexander and Steve Guerdat, but it was Michel Hecart of France who best navigated the power-and-speed format class to win aboard Nokia de Brekka.
“He’s a very brave horse and respectful of the obstacles. His only weakness is he is limited in how high he can jump,” said Hecart of the horse he has been campaigning for six years. “I compete in the Middle East because I like to be outdoors, and right now everything in Europe is indoors.” Although this was his first time in Qatar, he said, “The horses have been in the emirates before, so they are used to the heat.” While the stables are comfortably air conditioned, Hecart explained it is “not too strong – not a big shock when they come outside. It is also a benefit for recovery.”
Michael Whitaker and Amai won the the big tour CSI5*. Photo by Graham Gannon
The feature class of the night, the big tour CSI5*, was a last-to-go win for Michael Whitaker (GBR) and Amai. The 14-year-old BWP gelding has a good track record, winning at Aachen and a couple of World Cup qualifiers in the past. An injury in 2012 saw him sidelined for a time. When asked if having to wait for the entire field to go before him was stressful, Whitaker, 54, joked in typical form, “Not really, at my age. It’s just nice to sit down for a bit.”
Qatar is rapidly coming into its own as a competitive show jumping nation. “We have three different teams: the Federation team, the army team and the police team,” explained Al Qadi. They all compete together, and although Al Qadi says many are mostly new to the sport, especially the army team which only started seven or eight years ago, they recently made a couple of monumental purchases of horseflesh. “They bought one of the best horses in the world,” said Al Qadi, referring to Palloubet d’Halong, a son of Baloubet who had previously been purchased by Jan Tops for a record 11,000,000 euros for his wife, Edwina Tops-Alexander, to ride. The gelding and his new rider, Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi, competed in the small tour CSI5* at this CHI, working out some bugs and placing eighth. In another coup, the mare Bella Donna was recently purchased from Marcus Beerbaum by the Qatari Armed Forces.
Note: Classes are broadcast live online – go to http://chialshaqab.com/media/watch-live to view.
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