Rider delayed over US visa

Only Emirati showjumper to qualify for the sport's World Cup looks likely to miss the event after delays obtaining US visa.

Ahmed al Junaibi at the Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan Showjumping Competition.

ABU DHABI // The only Emirati showjumper to qualify for the sport's World Cup looks likely to miss the event later this week after delays in obtaining a US visa for the competition. Ahmed al Junaibi is still waiting for his visa to travel to Las Vegas for the FEI Showjumping World Cup, which starts in only six days. This is despite the fact his Dh3 million (US$817,000) horse, Picobello Wodiena, and its Moroccan groom have already been granted visas.

"If I don't go it will be hard for me because for eight years I have been working towards this, buying horses and training hard," said al Junaibi, who competed at the Hazza bin Zayed al Nahyan Showjumping Competition in Abu Dhabi over the weekend. The 37-year-old, who rode at the 2001 World Cup in Jerez, Spain, had been invited to join the American and Canadian showjumping teams in Florida, but his departure for the US has been so delayed that, if he goes at all, he will have to head straight to Las Vegas.

"There is no chance of any preparation in America now," he said. "If I get the visa I will go directly to the show. Perhaps if I had a stamp in my passport that they didn't like I could understand the delays. I don't know why there are these problems; I was always in Europe training over the last decade and there were never any problems with immigration. We have had meetings with the embassy and they said I can go but after they said to wait and now they are quiet."

Due to the complication of arranging air travel for Picobello Wodiena at short notice, al Junaibi's camp doubts he will make it in time even if he gets a visa. Although al Junaibi has yet to get permission to travel, he has not been told he has been refused entry. While Americans entering the UAE get an automatic 30-day visa, Emiratis must apply for the US through the American embassy. Al Junaibi, who rides for the Emirates Heritage Centre, is one of only two Arabs to qualify for the World Cup, the sport's showpiece event. The other is Saudi Arabia's Hamed bin Moteb al Saud. Their preparations were very different.

The Saudi rider spent a month in Belgium, competing in top events. Al Junaibi has been doing as much as he can on the UAE's smaller show scene. "It's frustrating," al Junaibi said. "But, inshallah, I will be able to go. It is big money to buy a horse and transport it to shows around this region to qualify for the World Cup and I have not given up hope." Al Junaibi has been riding with the UAE team since 1991 and has spent time in Germany, France and Spain, where he said he has never had issues with immigration.

Under FEI regulations, a horse and rider must qualify together for the World Cup, and al Junaibi managed it even though he has partnered Picobello Wodiena for just five months. Al Junaibi showed his class yesterday by winning the penultimate event of the day on Maxima, owned by Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa. After the prize-giving, both horse and rider led the lap of honour and came back for an encore to cheers from the stand.

Meredith Michaels Beerbaums, the first woman to reach number one in the FEI rankings in 2004, was watching. "It's disappointing," the German rider said. "I think sport should be free from politics. "It is very encouraging that Emirati riders are proving they are of a world-class standard. One of these days they will actually get to compete." No one from the American Embassy in Abu Dhabi was available for comment yesterday.

@Email:[e-mail]