Photo by Mohamed Tinakicht
I hope everyone caught the results and photos that were posted on the Horse-Canada News page during the CHI Al Shaqab during the show last week. In the final Grand Prix, worth 650,000 euros, the top three placings were held by Ludger Beerbaum of Germany with Chiara 222, and Belgian riders Gregory Wathelet with Sea Coast Forlap DC and young Nicola Philippaerts aboard Cortez. Qataris were excited and proud that one of their own, Faleh Suwead Al Ajmi riding the beautiful Come Soon, placed fifth in this prestigious class against some really tough company. The local riders are fearless, keen, and riding some very nice horses.
The dressage at Al Shaqab did not have the strongest field, but there were some decent tests and it was an emotional Grand Prix and GP Freestyle win for Nathalie zu Sayn Wittgenstein of Denmark and Digby, whom she had retired from team competion but was letting him just “ have fun” until the end of this year, when he will be 18 and fully retired.
Good ol’ Digby
Second-placed Lone (pronounced “low-neh” for those who are snickering like schoolboys) Bang Larsen, also of Denmark, put in some solid performances aboard the lovely Fitou L and is certainly one to watch as the season progresses. The Al Shaqab organizing committee is keen to expose people in Qatar to the sport, as there are no dressage shows in the country and very few people involved in that discipline (it is considered a ‘ladies’ sport’ here by most, but they are hoping to dispel that notion).
Crowds were very light (I doubt that Al Shaqab was relying on gate receipts to break even), although there was a fairly good turnout on the final Saturday, likely thanks to plenty of advertising on TV and in the newspapers. I am sure that will progressively improve each year as the word gets out.
Qatar Airways has announced that beginning June 10, 2014, it will offer non-stop flights to Miami, FL, from its hub in Doha four times per week, so there will be no excuse for riders centered in Wellington not to go, should they be lucky enough to be invited. European riders I spoke with said the horses shipped via Qatar Airways were treated well and traveled well.
Which brings me to the rise of equestrian sport in Qatar.
There are amazing advances going on there, both in terms of facilities and the strength of their riders and horses. The Qatar National Show Jumping team qualified for the Nations Cup™ Finals in Barcelona in October 2014 after an impressive and very close second-place finish at Al Ain (UAE).The Qatar Team also qualified for the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, and will be represented by Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani, Ali Bin Yousef Al Rumaihi, Mubarak Yousef Rumaihi and Bassem Hassan Mohammed, as well as qualifying four reserve riders. In February, Qatar rider Hamad bin Ali Mohammed Al Attiyah qualified for the World Cup Final in Lyon in April.
Hamad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Attiya, chairman of the board of the Qatar Equestrian Federation (QEF), which was established in 1979, explained the sudden onslaught of show jumping excellence. “Two years ago, we started buying some horses and taking care of our riders in [training] camps in Europe – they spent seven months competing in Europe on Global Champion Tours and other type of games. This year, we are concentrating on going to Normandy, so we equipped our team with good horses and a good trainer – Jan Tops, based in Holland. We are starting our camp in March for the World Equestrian Games, and we have one rider competing in the World Cup in Lyon, Hamad Al Attiyah. We have faith in our riders, they work hard. Overall, we have good support from our government – they are supporting us with a huge budget to go to the Olympic Games.”
They have also been quietly purchasing some of the best available horseflesh in the world, most recently Palloubet D Halong, a horse acquired by Jan Tops for a record 11,000,000 euros last year who is now being ridden by Ali Yousef Al Rumaihi, one of the best riders in Qatar. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum’s successful mare Bella Donna has also been acquired by the Qatari Armed Forces and will be ridden by Hamad Al Attiyah. And Primeval Dejavu, Gert Jan Bruggink’s top horse, was purchased by the QEF and will be ridden by Bassem Hassan Mohammed.
Qatar even has an Eventing team training in the UK with Joss Gray, and Hamad Al Attiya admits that because it is a difficult, complex sport “it is not easy in one or two years to do something. We had a medal in the Asian Games in Qatar in 2006, and need continued hard work to arrive to the levels of 3* and 4* of eventing.”
The QEF also announced its intention to host a World Equestrian Games in Doha in the future, possibly as soon as 2022.“What we are doing at Al Shaqab, what we are doing as a federation, and what we are doing with our teams, our target is to host big games in Qatar,” said Hamad Al Attiya. “But we need time to arrive there; the next Games that are available are in 2022 (the same year that Doha will be hosting the FIFA World Cup soccer final). We hope we can do it in the same year.” He did not exaggerate when he added, “When we say we want to do something, we do it.”
And now, some parting notes from my jet-lagged, addled brain about my experience in Doha.
– We took a trip one evening to Souq Waqif, modelled on an ancient Bedouin market, that TripAdvisor ranks #1 for shopping in Doha. It was a feast for the senses – music, fragrances, food cooking on grills, a complex series of alleyways with stores hawking everything from gold to pashminas to beautiful bolts of fabric to hideous t-shirts and taxidermy. The people in the tiny shops try to sell you the oddest things. One earnest guy showed me a full-coverage headpiece with slits for the eyes and said it would look beautiful on me. I know it had been a long day, but I didn’t think I looked that rough!
– I saw a sandstorm and also a thunderstorm, complete with rain, so my meteorological desert bucket list is complete.
– The desert landscape that I drove through was a bit of a disappointment – just sand and rocks, no dunes. There are dune areas south of the city and in the Dubai area, however.
– Beerbaum, when spoken in Arabic, sounds just like “bare bum.”
Mr. Bare Bum in action. Photo by Graham Gannon
– I interviewed a delightful young Canadian endurance rider, Chloe Sifton, who has been living and riding in Qatar for some time. Watch for her thoughts on the sport an upcoming issue of Horse Sport.
– In a previous post I mentioned a tasty drink I called “carrot tea.” I have since been gently corrected that it is actually “Karak tea”– a sweet spiced tea (no carrots involved) that is considered by some to be the national beverage of Qatar and even has its own Facebook fan page!
– it was very surreal to see “Mrs. Doubtfire” on television with Arabic subtitles.
– Time did not allow for visits to some other important attractions such as the Museum of Islamic Art or the Corniche area on the harbour, or the racecourse for camel racing. Perhaps next time….
Consider attending the CHI Al Shaqab next year – it is an eye-opening, trip-of-a-lifetime destination that will likely shatter any pre-conceived notions you had about Muslim life in an Arabian country. It certainly did for me.
Ma’al salama.
(For complete results from the CHI Al Shaqab, click here )
Dear Susan, our Fearless Editor at Horse Sport: thank you very much for sharing your impressions of Doha with the readers. Just the spelling of all those vowel-saturated names deserves a special merit award. ~ Karen, Straight-Up
