Young Qatari rider al-Suwaidi clinches Emir’s Sword

Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi couldn’t have chosen a bigger stage toannounce himself, as the Qatari rider emerged triumphant in HH TheEmir’s Sword Equestrian championship yesterday. The 23-year-old stolethe thunder at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor arena as heguided his veteran grey gelding Cantaro 32 to victory in the Big Tourclass. Al-Suwaidi was thrilled to receive the Emir’s Sword from His Highnessthe Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. “It’s a pleasure for anyone toshake Emir’s hand and receive the sword from Emir. It’s such anhonour,” the young rider said. Al-Suwaidi and Cantaro 32 proved to be aformidable combination as they galloped the long course and jumped clearwith a faultless round, stopping the clock at an impressive 78.16secs.Unlike in the previous years, when a rider would win the championship ifhe did well on a particular day, this time the riders had to performconsistently over the three days of the championship. And al-Suwaidiwalked away with the honour and QR68,750 in prize money after tallyinghighest points on the back of his impressive show yesterday. “I held upmy points since first day. It was three days of jumping. I made surethat I had very good time on the first day because it would help me onthe last day if I jump clean then I can win title,” he said. Al-Suwaidi paid credit to his horse Cantaro 32 for the victory. “It’s myfirst Emir Sword win. It was a big challenge as there were strongcompetitors. I have an 18-year-old horse, which refuses to give up andpushed hard to today. I have been riding Cantaro 32 now for two and halfyears. Today, I was under pressure but it ended nicely. So I am veryhappy,” he said.Qatari Olympic rider Hamad Ali al-Attiyah and his 11-year-old geldingClinton finished second, while Salman Mohammed al-Emadi and Zorro Z tookthird spot. “I was bit unlucky on the first day. But thank God I was fifth and heldmy ground in key rounds and today I finished second. I am very happy.Salmeen is a very good rider with a really good horse. Both of themdeserve it, as they worked hard so hard the whole season to achieve thisvictory,” al-Attiyah said.“This is my best result in Emir Sword. Every year I have come here withmy second horse, this year I had a good horse. We were not ready for theshow but we did what we can and we ended up second. We could have wonbut it was my mistake that cost us and not my horse’s fault,” he added. Meanwhile, Khalid Mohammed al-Emadi won the Medium Tour class with his10-year-old gelding Fiji. Al-Emadi was richer by QR41,250 after hisvictory. Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser al-Thani (Dollar Van Ze Zuuthoeve)was second, while Cyrine Cherif (Gerlin VD Waterkant) came third. The Small Tour title went to Mohammed al-Ghazali, who rode Michael Jackson to victory and clinch QR25,000 in prize money.Saeed Hamad al-Rashdi (Graffiti De Lully CH) finished second, while Mohammed Nasser al-Qadi (Vlacido) third.In the dressage events, Hassan al-Nuaimi (Leslie Ann 2) won the Level 1event, followed by Saeed hamad al-Rashdi (Graffiti De Lully CH) insecond and Amna Ahmad al-Saffar (Rhythm) in third. The Dressage Level 2top spot went to Mennatallah Hesham Mourad (Quick Dance). Aisha Ahmedal-Ahmadi (Wait And See Ze) took runner-up spot, while Maha Mataral-Kuwari (Fokke Van Orshof D’17) completed the podium. Meanwhile, Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, President of the Qatar andAsian Equestrian Federation, hailed the HH The Emir’s Sword Festival.Al-Attiyah said: “The Emir’s Sword Festival has achieved outstandingsuccess. We are proud to contribute to the success of the twofederations – Qatar Equestrian Federation and Qatar Racing Club,” hesaid.  “I also want congratulate the Salmeen Sultan al-Suwaidi forwinning the championships and winning the precious sword.  I want tocongratulate other Qatari riders too who competed for the podium,” headded.