14 Friday, January 17, 2020 Sports Longines Qatar Equestrian Tour 2019-2020 Sixth round of Longines Hathab at Al Shaqab from today TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK seen in the previous five rounds The Schedule DOHA and the competition among the riders is growing intense add- FRIDAY THE sixth round of Longines ing to the excitement. Small Tour (2pm): Table A, two Hathab Equestrian Tour of the Khalid Mohammed al Phases third edition (2019-2020) of Emadi (120 pts) currently Medium Tour (5.30pm): (Table A, the annual domestic equestri- leads the Big Tour, followed by One round against the clock with an championship will be held Mohammed Sultan al Suwaidi at the Al Shaqab Arena on Fri- (118), and Salmeen Sultan al jump-off) day and Saturday. Suwaidi (95) points. The twelve-leg national The Medium Tour is led by SATURDAY series is jointly conducted Hussain Saeed Haidan (127pts). Dressage by Qatar Equestrian Federa- He is trailed by Mohammed Ha- Elementary (Level 1): 9am tion and Modern pentathlon zim Abara (1210, and by Jaber Prelim (Level 2): 10.30am & Al Shaqab. Rashid al Amri (114). Open Class (2pm): Ride & Drive event The mandatory veterinary The Small Tour is being Big Tour (5.30pm): Table A, One round check of all participating hors- topped by Mohammed Nasser against the clock with jump-off. es was conducted on Thursday. al Qadi (121pts), and is fol- The 6th round will kick off lowed by Ali Mohammed al this series – a points system with the Small Tour at 2pm on Qadi (116), and Khalifa Abdul- has been implemented with Friday with the Table A, two la al Khaldi (109). The fourth defined participants, for each Phases class and will be fol- palce is occupied by Faris Saad class of competition. lowed by the Medium Tour for al Qahtani, also on 109 points. Hathab’s significance is individuals and teams (Table The QR 1.5mn national demonstrated by the results of A, One round against the clock series Longines Hathab – Qa- the competition being used as with jump-off) at 5.30pm. tar Equestrian Tour is aimed a guide in the selection of rid- On Saturday, the dressage at improving the standard of ers to represent Qatar in inter- events (Elementary Level 1 & horse riding among Qatari national competitions. Prelim Level 2) will begin from youth, while encouraging the The competition series is 9am. Later in the afternoon, involvement of private stables open to Qataris and residents the Open Class (Ride & Drive) and individual horse owners of Qatar. The riding disci- event will be held from 2pm, to spread awareness of horse- plines include showjumping leading to the Big Tour (Table manship as part of Qatar’s his- and dressage, and comprise A, One round against the clock tory and tradition. five competition categories. with jump-off) from 5.30pm. A clear benchmark for A horse being taken for mandatory veterinary check ahead of the sixth round of Longines Hathab Equestrian Tour of the third edition The Future Riders categories Exciting contests have been Qatar has been set through (2019-2020) of the annual domestic championship at Al Shaqab Equestrian Arena on Thursday. (PIC: MOHAMED TINACHIKT) include ages 6 and above. Qatar Foundation nurturing a new generation of equine excellence A unique program at Al Shaqab is developing the horse-riding stars of the future while also teaching them valuable life skills ORSE riding is not simply a sport – it is a discipline.” “HThis is how the award-win- ning Qatari rider Mohammed Sultan al Suwaidi explains what drove him to play his part in revolutionizing equine education in Qatar. Founded in 1992 with the goal of becoming a leading name in the equestrian world, the evolution of Al Shaqab has been guided by three princi- ples: heritage, excellence, and education. And all of these are reflected in its Equine Educa- tion Department, established as a community asset to foster future generations of equine professionals. “When I joined Al Shaqab, we had approximately 180 stu- dents enrolled in Al Shaqab’s equine education program, aged from six years upward, and the riding lessons were mainly recreational,” says Al Suwaidi, who joined Al Shaqab in 2014 as the manager of its Equine Education Department. “We started to put togeth- er a plan to establish our own curriculum by gathering infor- Al Shaqab’s Equine Education aims at producing a new generation of riders that can represent Qatar at international level. Al Shaqab’s curriculum is more focused on practice than theory. mation from other academic systems, and come up with a of the Qatari horse market. lationship is one that never curriculum that would sup- “People used to buy horses ends.” port the needs of our students that were at high levels to com- Speaking about the success while also suiting Qatar’s pete in Qatar, but this would of Al Shaqab’s Equine Educa- unique context and environ- make it harder for the rider tion Program, Al Suwaidi says: ment. I wanted to make the and require them to make ad- “The transformation that we curriculum more focused on ditional efforts to adjust them- have made in this area came at practice rather than theory.” selves to the horse,” he says. the right time. The curriculum at Al “We contributed in chang- “We now have around 400 Shaqab – a Qatar Foundation ing this by shifting towards buy- students enrolled in our pro- member – is known as the ing young horses that grow up gram, and we are seeking to Qatar Equestrian Classifica- with our students at Al Shaqab. raise this number to 600 over tion, and is the first of its kind We see their improvement day the coming years. Today, we in the country. Divided into after day, and we are achieving can see the outcomes of the ef- two levels, its foundation level the results we aspire to achieve, forts we have put in – we cur- consists of three elements that helping to put the sport in Qatar rently have three riders in the introduce riders to dressage, where we want it to be and push top level in jumping, and two jumping, and groundwork it to the highest level.” riders in the top level of dres- (where the rider leads their According to Al Suwaidi, sage, at the local level. horse through exercises using the goal of Al Shaqab’s Equine “Through our focus on ropes) through preparatory Education Center is to nurture a equine education, we will pro- lessons, while the intermediate new wave of riders who under- duce a new generation of rid- level provides a more advance stand what horsemanship truly ers that can represent Qatar at learning in all of these areas as means. “Horse-riding creates international level.” well as in equine theory. a deep connection and an ev- The Equine Education De- Once they have completed erlasting relationship between partment welcomes both insti- this, riders can select their humans and animals,” he said. tutions and the general public own majors in each of these “We want our riders to to visit Al Shaqab, and organ- areas, and are eligible to re- learn how to mature a horse, ises educational, informative, ceive the Equestrian Passport, not how to spoil them, and to and recreational tours to raise which provides them with ad- Around 400 students are currently enrolled in Al Shaqab’s programme. educate them that as much as awareness about equestrian mission to any riding school in you give to these creatures, culture. These tours run from the world as well as qualifying and its traditions, Al Suwaidi experienced a lot in this sport quick and accurate decisions Suwaidi has been instrumental they will always give it back. 7:30-11:30am and 3-7pm, them to participate in official says horse-riding also helps myself, and I can definitely at the right time.” in transforming the mentality “Every rider who started Sunday to Thursday. Eques- competitions. young people acquire skills say that it helps riders develop Given his strong passion surrounding horse-riding in with us is still committed to trian enthusiasts can register In addition to its role in and values that support both great character,” he explained. for horses and riding, which Qatar, bringing about change horse-riding, and I believe through filling in the appli- promoting and preserving the their professional and per- “It teaches them how to stretches back to his child- not only in terms of equine ed- they will never give up on it, cation form at https://www. Arabian equestrian heritage sonal development. “I have be leaders, and how to make hood, it is no surprise that Al ucation, but also in the culture because the human-horse re- alshaqab.com/tours/tours-en..