Riders from 29 countries will be racing over 120 kilometres of desert terrain Saturday to determine the world junior champion.
The biennial FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors is being staged in Abu Dhabi for the first time, and home competitors are hoping to clinch the team title and retain the individual gold medal won by a UAE horseman two years ago.
The Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba will see 79 riders, all under the age of 21, start the race over a course featuring rising grounds, downhill runs and sandy underfoot conditions consisting of five loops - 33km, 27km, 24km, 20km and 16km.
The UAE have entered the maximum number of riders - four - led by Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed Al Hamed on Ultimo.
He is joined by the Al Marri brothers, Ali Ghanim (who will be aboard Castlebar Tornado) and Khalifa Ghanim (aboard Little Joe Fox), and Mohammed Saeed Al Faresi (riding Fenwick Cadenza).
The UAE has had a lot of success in endurance racing at the international level.
Hussain Ali Al Marzouqi is the reigning world junior champion, winning the gold aboard Sargai in Hungary in 2009.
Ahmed Ali Al Sabri won the European Open junior gold on Alizee de Marjolaine in France last year.
Thaleb Dhaher Al Muhairi, the secretary general of the Emirates Equestrian Federation, said the race is likely to be a very competitive one, and the host team is not expected to have any big advantage over the visiting riders and horses.
"The Emirati riders have prepared well, but I believe so has everyone else in the race," Al Muhairi said.
"Every rider and team has come well prepared for this race, and the world title could turn out to be anybody's guess."
Even so, the testing desert terrain and the 120 kilometre race distance will be taxing for both horses and riders.
"The first three loops are all about preserving the horse when they tackle the difficult part of the course," said Derek Liebenberg, the FEI technical director.
"However, I am aware all those here for this competition have trained in similar conditions in their own countries before heading to Abu Dhabi.
"We have also had no issues with the weather, which has been pretty good so far, and hope it will stay cool on the race day."
apassela@thenational.ae
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Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
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Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
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Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
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Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
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Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
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- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
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Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
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About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
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Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
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Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
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The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
