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LGCT, GCL big action to staged from November 8th to10th
Vinay Nayudu
Doha
One of the finest equestrian centres in the world, Al Shaqab will once again come aglow this weekend with the world's top top riders and horses competing in the finals of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) and the Global Champions League (GCL) team competition.
With high stakes battles ahead over the three days (November 8-10) at the vast state-of-the-art Al Shaqab, it is predicted that the sporting drama will go down to the wire.
At the pre-cursor press conference of the event on Tuesday, Event Director Ali al Rumaihi stressed on the importance of holding the LGCT and GCL final in Qatar.
"We are proud to host the final which has seen 15 exciting competitions around the world. Hosting this event is within the vision of Al Shaqab, a world-class equestrian centre which promotes the existence and development of equestrian sport and its heritage in Qatar."
He also pointed out the tremendous work Al Shaqab, a member of Qatar Foundation, is doing within the community and to increase equestrian awareness, Qatari traditions and history, while also inspiring the next generation of young talent.
"Visitors can enjoy restaurants and cafes, pony rides and kid's areas, and we encourage fans who have never seen the tournament to come and enjoy this special event with many different activities."
Qatar's Olympian rider Sheikh Ali bin Khalid al Thani, who will also be in action at the Doha event, said,"We are very proud to bring this sport at this high level to Qatar. The sport has grown a lot in the last few years. It is one of our mission to bring the best Tour to Qatar and we are very proud to have it here and very proud to ride in it. Of course, we are always excited to be home and have this amazing event at Al Shaqab. I'm very excited to be here and we have prepared well to come to this show."
Sheikh Ali also spoke of his pride as GCL team Doha Fursan Qatar has qualified for the GCL Super Cup at the Playoffs."We did our best and we could also do better, but in another way we are happy that we are at least qualified for the final in Prague which was the ambition for us this year and we are looking to have a podium in Doha this year," he said.
LGCT President and GCL Co-Founder Jan Tops welcomed the return of the LGCT finale to Doha."It's very important for us to be in this place (Qatar), in this part of the world. I think we have a great relationship built through the years and all the riders come to Qatar to compete in this magnificent arena.
"It's really a world village where everything is thought about. From the stabling to the arena, everything is horse minded. We all love to come here and are looking forward to the final of this great sport, the best horses and the best riders who will compete this weekend," he said.
LGCT and GCL Sport Director Marco Danese predicted another nail-biting climax to the season ahead of the new GC Playoffs in Prague in December.
The winner of the LGCT Grand Prix of Doha will take the last qualifying spot for the LGCT Super Grand Prix at the Playoffs. And the top 16 teams in the final overall ranking after Doha will go through to the GCL Super Cup at the Playoffs.
Danese said:"As always we have a lot of riders fighting for the podium in the final and we have actually have seven riders, (Alberto) Zorzi, (Harrie) Smolders, (Daniel) Deusser, (Scott) Brash, Nicola Philippaerts, Edwina Tops-Alexander and Christian Ahlmann competing for the second and third place on the podium so I think it's very interesting and I think that the decision is always at the last jump of the jump off."
Only 28 points separate current second place rider Alberto Zorzi (ITA) (237 points) and eighth placed Christian Ahlmann (GER) (209 points) setting up a high-high-powered contest among seven elite riders fighting for the highest spot possible on the overall ranking.
Last year Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, with children from the Al Shaqab Riding Academy, presented both the coveted LGCT Championship trophy to Harrie Smolders and also the winning medal to Qatari rider Bassem Hassan Mohammed.
HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al Thani, President, Qatar Olympic Committee, was also in attendance along with diplomats from around the world.
On Wednesday, riders and horses will get their first chance to warm up, and GCL teams will make their final tactical decisions on which riders and horses to field for the big showdown of the team series.
