Show Jumping kicks off in UAE On October 12
Season to feature 27 competitions

The show jumping season will kick start in the UAE on Wednesday, October 12, 2005, with the inaugural competition scheduled to be held at the Sharjah Equestrian Centre Indoor stadium, at 8 p.m.

The first day of the two-day event will feature Class 1, 2 and 3 categories and the second day (Thursday) will feature class 4, 5, and 6 categories. A purse of Dh 13,500 has been kept aside for the winners.

Lisa Hareb will officiate as the Jury President for the event with Khalil Ibrahim and Christine as members, Abdul Aziz as Time Keeper, Lynn Al Redha is the National Federation Steward and the course is being designed by Atif Shawky.

The championship is organized by the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation. The UAE Federation organizes several national and some international show jumping competitions every year over the weekends during the winter months. They are mainly held at The Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, the Abu Dhabi Mounted Police, Emirates Riding Centre, Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club, Jebel Ali Equestrian Club and Ajman Equestrian Club.

The 2004-2005 season will witness 27 competitions altogether. Ten competitions will be held at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club including one CSI- W, Sharjah Equestrian club will witness seven competitions including one CSI- W, Emirates Riding Centre will host only one CSI- W, Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club will feature five competitions whereas Ajman Equestrian Club and Abu Dhabi Mounted Police will host two each.

Show jumping in the United Arab Emirates has witnessed maximum progress within a short span of time. The UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, which adopted a long-term plan for show jumping, has ensured the all-round development of this attractive equestrian sport.

The progress in the field has resulted in a number of praiseworthy achievements both within and outside the country. Guided by the policies of the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Their Highnesses the Supreme Council members and Rulers of the other Emirates, the sport has made great strides.

Due to the encouragement given by the President of the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation HE Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the sport is attracting more and more young national riders and the Equestrian Federation has also put into motion a long-term training plan for the UAE jumpers. While training camps are held in the UAE, some of the more promising jumpers are sent abroad to undergo focused training under international experts in the field.

PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES

This is to inform that all horses taking part in an endurance ride/event should compete on their own merits, and not under the influence of any prohibited substance. The FEI laboratories are very well equipped to detect even the smallest quantity of drug or its byproduct/metabolite. The FEI has recently streamlined the process of adjudication of positive cases. For more information check the FEI website (WWW.horsesport.org) or contact this Federation

Please note that in all equestrian events in the UAE, including endurance and show jumping, a number of horses are randomly selected and are sampled to test for the prohibited substances. If a horse sampled is tested positive, the Judicial Committee of FEI will follow all the legal procedures after notifying the person responsible (rider) through his National Federation. Depending on the type of the drug detected, the FEI will disqualify the rider and impose a fine. In severe cases it may even suspend the rider for a period of time.

For show jumping horses, special sampling kits have been developed for swabbing lower limbs to test for hyper sensitive substances. This will be a regular procedure from hereafter.

This Federation requests all those concerned to be very careful with regard to the usage of drugs and be aware of the withdrawal period of all the prohibited substances before usage.

For further information and for any clarification, please contact this Office. Click Here

Hussein Mohd. Hussein
Secretary General

Sheikh Hamdan's horse Wins in Newmarket

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at the Newmarket race course.

Kandar Du Falgab, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, was steered to a superb win by Richard Hills in The Abu Dhabi International Championship (Group 1) race held at the Newmarket racecourse on Tuesday, September 20, 2005.

The day also featured The UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation Nursery Handicap for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Both the races were sponsored by the UAE Equestrian Federation.

The races were attended by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, apart from several dignitaries, high-ranking officials and a huge fan following.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, at the Newmarket Race Course on Tuesday.

The 8-year-old French horse Kandar Du Falgab sired by Kesberoy was too good for the small field of six runners, winning by 3.5 lengths, in this race for three-year-old Pure-bred Arabian horses.

Trained by M.D De Watrigent, Kandar Du Falab won the 1600-metre race in a time of 1:50.18 with the A.J Brunton-trained CS Malik ( R. Thomas astride) finishing second. Mistral Del Sol finished third under jockey A. de Vries.

In the added attraction for Thoroughbreds, Godolphin's Faith And Reason under jockey Kerrin McEvoy came up with a searing run to win the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation Nursery Handicap by a head. It was trained by Saeed bin Surour.

McEvoy, who was standing in for Frankie Dettori, initially raced on the track side before he tracked the leader and switched to the centre. With about two furlongs left McEvoy chased the leader Gramm and then with a final burst managed to pip him by a head. Gramm ridden by Richard Hughes managed to finish in the second place and the third place went to Time For Life astride D.Holland. Twelve two-year-old horses were in the field for this race.

The races were held as part of The President of the United Arab Emirates Prize for Pure-bred Arabian horses. The UAE Equestrian Federation sponsors races every year in major European countries and in the US, Canada, Morocco and Egypt, to boost the status of Pure-bred Arabian horses.

This year races have been successfully held in Newmarket, Belgium, France, US and Moscow and two more races are scheduled to be held in Baden Baden, Germany and Curragh, Ireland.