The UAE’s first appearance at the Longines FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona in 2017 went down in history as one of their finest moments on the world stage.
They won the Challenge Cup from the established show jumping nations Ireland, Brazil, Spain, Britain, New Zealand and Italy but haven’t been able to reach anywhere close to that success since.
Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi was part of that history-making team and he believes the current squad's have prepared well to challenge on the world stage again, provided they can qualify for the Finals again in Barcelona in October.
“First we need to qualify and then we can think about what we do next,” Al Muhairi said ahead of Saturday’s Longines Nations Cup Middle East qualifier at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
“And before that, we have the President of the UAE Cup [on Thursday] which is a good platform.
“They are both 5-star events with some of the best riders and horses from around the world. Both these competitions are important for us as riders and as teams.”
Also vying for one of the two qualifying spots are Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria while Germany and New Zealand compete in the team event for a slice of the €250,000 (Dh999,000) prize fund.
The Nations Cup features five riders from each country, but only the points from the best three will be added to the total. The team that scores the most points will be declared the winner.
The UAE have named six riders for the Nations Cup qualifier: Al Muhairi and Abdullah Al Marri are members of the team that won the Challenge Cup in Barcelona. They have both qualified for the FEI World Cup in Las Vegas in April.
Mohammed Al Kumaiti, Mohammed Al Owais and the father-son duo Hamad and Ali Al Kirbi make up the rest of the squad.
“We have prepared well as a team and are hopeful of booking our passage again to Barcelona,” Al Muhairi said.
“Our first appearance at the Nations Cup was great. We haven’t been able to match that feat in the last two years but we are hopeful we can do better, provided we qualify.”
Al Muhairi rides Cha 7, the mare whom he rode in Barcelona in 2017 and won the 5-star Sharjah Rulers Cup last year.
“She’s been in good form and I'm looking forward to riding her in the President of the UAE Cup,” Al Muhairi added.
“After that, we’ll see how she comes out from that competition before deciding on the Nations Cup qualifier.”
