The UAE secured another equestrian medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Sunday, as Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi and Hudson de Vains claimed individual silver following a dramatic three-way jump-off at JRA Equestrian Park in Tokyo.
It follows the silver won by Emirates riders in the team final on Thursday and takes the UAE's overall medal tally from the Asian Games, which ends Sunday, to 12 – seven gold, four silver and one bronze.
Humaid Abdulla Khalifa Al Muhairi, onboard Mentos, narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in Competition A, while Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi and Enjoy de la Mure finished sixth and Sheikha Latifah Bint Ahmed Al Maktoum and Cornet XL seventh in the newly introduced 1.55m Competition B.
"I'm happy to finish second, but of course I could have been first. That's the sport. It's always up and down, and you never know whether you're going to win, be placed or be out of the competition. But I'm happy with a medal," Abdullah said.
"I'm so proud of Hudson. He's just nine years old and still lacks some experience, but our competitions and training over the summer have really paid off. He's stepping up and showing the quality, scope and temperament for the job. I'm sure we will go far together."
The battle for the medals produced a dramatic conclusion, with Qatar's Faleh Alajmi first to tackle the jump-off. A fence down in 40.88 seconds left the door open for Abdullah, who entered the arena intending to deliver a clear round and put himself in contention for gold.
However, the excitement of the occasion prompted the Emirati rider to increase the pace, resulting in a fault at a challenging oxer. He crossed the finish line in 41.93 seconds.
Saudi Arabia's Khaled Almobty, the final rider to jump, lowered the final fence, confirming Qatar's place atop the podium with Saudi Arabia taking third.
Reflecting on his strategy for the final round, Abdullah said: "After I saw the Qatari rider have a fence down, my plan was to go clear. But you never know. When you're in the ring, you want to go faster.
"I'm normally a fast rider, and perhaps it wasn't very smart of me. But if I'd gone slower and still had a fence down, I would have finished with bronze. It's always complicated. If it's your day, it's your day."
In the higher-level Competition B, Emirates Jumping's Al Marzooqi and Sheikha Latifah returned to the arena for Sunday's decisive second round, contested over a demanding 1.55m course featuring 15 jumping efforts.
Al Marzooqi, seventh in the starting order and carrying four faults from Saturday, produced an excellent clear round aboard Enjoy de la Mure, comfortably inside the time allowed, to finish sixth overall.
Sheikha Latifah, part of the Emirates' silver-medal-winning team on Thursday, entered Sunday's Individual final on zero faults following an impressive clear round with Cornet XL on Saturday. Despite another committed performance, two fences down in the decisive round left the combination seventh overall.
"I'm very disappointed with my round. I'm not disappointed with my riding, just disappointed with the result," she said.
"The way he jumped every other fence, I don't think the result does justice to his performance. He jumped two fences badly and we had them down. Luck wasn't on our side, but I'm still very proud of him."
