Dubai: The UAE equestrian squad is determined to better their performance at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in Incheon — and have been training hard in a number of overseas camps during the summer.
Shaikh Latifa Al Maktoum led from the front, winning the individual jumping silver and the second place in the team competition the next day as the country came up with its best performance in equestrian at an Asian Games.
In Incheon, all equestrian competitions will be held at the Dream Park Equestrian Venue and the UAE squad of five riders will be in action on September 28 and 30. Shaikha Latifa will lead the country’s challenge in the individual and team competitions along with Abdullah Al Marri, Mohammad Al Owais, Muftah Al Daheri and Abdullah Al Muhairi from 9am to 1pm on the first day.
Later in the afternoon, the entire squad will be involved in the team competition between 1 and 3.30pm. On September 30, the top 40 riders will be in action in Round One of the jumping competition with the group getting trimmed down to 25 riders later in the afternoon.
The squad has been training at various locations in Europe including Holland, France, Germany and Austria, and Talib Al Muhairi, General Secretary, Emirates Equestrian Federation is convinced the team is at its best to put up a strong challenge in Incheon.
“Four months of training is a long time and we’ve made sure we have not disturbed the set-up of the teams. Each rider has his own style and we have allowed each of them to continue with their respective training schedules in Europe during the summer. This way it is better as each rider will be at his or her peak after landing in Korea,” Al Muhairi told Gulf News.
“No doubt, we returned with medals the last time from China. This time will be no different as we will be better prepared. And there will be no additional pressure on us to return with medals as we are confident in our riders,” he added.
