Doha: Top Qatari rider, Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani is upbeat as the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix is all set to start in Doha later this week.
Currently the top Qatari rider in the world – sixth at the LGCT Ranking leaderboard and fresh from his recent qualification with his team for the Olympic games in Rio next year, Sheikh Ali speaks about his progressive career ahead of the three-day event ,which starts on Thursday, in an interview. Below are the excerpts:
Q: Where did it all begin for you and how did you become interested in horses?
A: I started when I was very young, when I was around seven years old. From then I started to love horses; I would always go to them whenever I could. After the two years, I chose jumping and that’s where it really began.
Q: Do you remember the first pony you ever rode?
A: I actually started with an Arab horse. I still remember my first horse, she was a grey mare and she had an Arabic name, Al Romania. She was the first horse I started with.
Q: Tell us about Longines Global Champions Tour; how is it evolving and growing the sport since you’ve been competing at this level?
A: For me I have learned a lot with LGCT. As you know all the best riders compete with their best horses on this Tour, so if you want to compete against them you have to do as well as them, otherwise you would have no chance to be among them. I started a few years ago with LGCT and it was hard for me in the beginning to even get placed with these riders. However after a few years, with good horses and a good programme I started to really get better. Now after competing on the LGCT, the rest of the shows come much more easier for me than before – I’ve really learned a lot from the coveted competition.
Q: Tell us about qualifying for the Olympics. It was a historical moment for you and Qatar...?
A: It was a goal for our team two years ago that we would qualify for the Olympics. It’s one of the reasons we decided to train with Jan Tops as we know he is the best and would help us to grow as a team. We came here to his stable in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, and really worked hard together. He did a good job with our team, as it was a big mission that we had in order to qualify for the Olympics. It’s particularly hard, as from our region only one country will go through, so we had to be the best otherwise there would be no chance to go. Together we planned it very well, we all worked very hard for it and finally we achieved it. The Olympics is our dream. It was an unbelievable feeling to qualify, we were all really happy and felt as though we had won a medal already! For us it was very special as it was the first time a Qatari showjumping team had qualified, and it means a lot for us. Now our next goal is get a medal – it is our target. I know it is even hard than qualifying, but we are working for it. If we don’t get it this time, we will fight for it until we get it.
Q: What will it mean to you to compete on home turf at Al Shaqab for the final LGCT round?
A: We have many local fans who support our team, so of course we will try to do our best at our home event. I always want to make them happy and proud, and all of our team work hard to try and do that. We’ve worked hard all through the summer and at every event to make our people proud of us; we work for our country, for our flag and we always do our best to make people really proud.
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