As the Arab League gets set for its final leg this weekend in Al Ain, UAE showjumper Abdullah Al Marri says more support is needed for local riders in order to compete at the highest level.

Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum won the Grand Prix in Dubai last Saturday and Al Marri, who was third in an all-Emirati podium at last weekend’s Accumulator with Joker class, believes the UAE has brilliant riders but a lot of investment needs to be made to acquire the right horses.

Saudi Arabia won a team bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics last summer and that was thanks to the Saudi Equestrian Fund which was supported by the King of Saudi Arabia and which invested large sums of money into buying the right horses for their riders.

Al Marri says he hopes a similar initiative can be taken someday in the UAE, who now host four legs in the Arab League. “We wish we can have something like that. I think we have some of the top riders,” said the 28-year-old Al Marri.

“The class before the Grand Prix we were first, second and third. Ahmed Al Junaibi from Abu Dhabi, Rashed Al Rumaithi from Abu Dhabi and myself. I think we have the riders, we only need the support.

“The other countries are spending a lot – some horses are over EUR 1 million and we’re competing with horses that we bought young and raised them ourselves. Sometimes they’re talented but it’s different when you buy the right horse.

“You can compare it to cars in a way. When you have the right car – you buy a Ferrari because you know it’s a fast one. The sponsors are doing a good job hosting events, but we’d like to have some more help with horses and hopefully we can have something (like the Saudis).”

One horse Al Marri has been preparing for years is Alaska – a mare that he owns himself and on which he finished third last weekend.

In the Grand Prix, which features higher fences, he rode a 15-year-old stallion named Randor K which is owned by the Dubai Equestrian Club. They had eight faults and finished 20th in the competition.

“I had Alaska since she was four years old,” explain Al Marri. “She just turned eight in January. So she’s only eight but she’s competing really well. She won three times in Qatar this year in the Arab League. So she’s doing really well. It’s out of my own pocket, but I’m glad. We hope that sponsors will help us out soon enough.”

Indeed the sight at the Emirates Equestrian Centre last weekend reflects how important the UAE has become in the world of showjumping, as the line-up included numerous Olympic medallists and world-class horses.

And the fact that an Emirati, in the form of Sheikha Latifa, won the Grand Prix is proof of how competitive UAE riders can be amongst a high-level field.

Saudi Olympic bronze medallist, Ramzy Al Duhami says his team’s success in London has had a positive effect on riders in the Gulf and the Arab world.

“You can see the impact that medal has had on the region. Everybody’s really riding like champions, everybody’s investing, so many trainers, so many great riders, so many good horses. It’s not so easy like it used to be before.

"The level, the jumps were so big today, it was a really big course and everyone performed so well, so that’s really nice,” says Al Duhami, who finished third in the Dubai Grand Prix.

Qatar’s Ali Al Rumaihi, who won the silver medal in the 2011 Arab Games, says the level of competition in the Arab League has risen to a great extent.

He said: “The level is improving. Of course there are some small things that can be tweaked, but looking at the UAE, we have many more legs here, there are more riders and horses from Europe competing here – big names. I am predicting that next year we won’t find a place for ourselves to compete in our own Arab League.”

 

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