Al Jahouri Wins Endurance Cup

The brilliant rider retained the title for the Al Wathba Stables and lived up to his promise when he said they have prepared well for the tough competition.

“I knew it was going to be very closely contested race with top riders from the UAE and abroad taking part. But, my horse did everything right and I was truly impressed with its performance,” he said.

Al Jahouri dedicated the victory to Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Presidential Affairs. The UAE riders made a clean sweep of the first positions to underline their supremacy over their opponents thanks to the strong support the sport has been receiving from the country’s officials.

The 160km FEI CEI 3-star attracted 94 top riders from around the world and organised by the Dubai Equestrian Club under the supervision of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

The quality field included His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai aboard Hattam, Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum astride Rahman Des Bruyeres and the cream of riders from UAE, Europe and elsewhere.

With total prize of Dh1.5m, the event is considered the richest endurance race in the world.

Above 20 riders have been eliminated, retired and disqualified in the early stages of the competition on veterinary grounds or by the riders themselves for the welfare of their horses.

Only one incident was recorded when the UAE rider Ghanim Sultan bin Sulayem fell down from his horse Damas El Ainoha and was eliminated by the organisers in the first loop.

Hussain Ali Al Marzooqi, riding Four Jaz from the Fazza Endurance Team set the early speed in the first phase, followed by Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Yousuf Al Bloushi from Al Reef Stables.

The winner settled in the 12^th position not far away from the leading pack. Al Jahouri dropped to the 13^th position in the second loop but only four minutes off the pace.

“I opted to make a relatively slow start in the light of the long distance and the need to keep my horse good for the whole trip,” said Al Jahouri who also trains his horse.

But Al Jahouri began to make ground right from the third loop and advanced to the fourth place to settle on the heels of the leaders and just two minutes off the pace.

“I asked my horse to improve when I had the feeling that in the second half of the trip things would be better. The weather was fine and the track was beautiful. My horse responded keenly and I was truly impressed by the way in which he picked up.

“He’s an honest horse and we will wait to see how did he come out of the race before deciding his next target,” he concluded.