DUBAI // Nine UAE riders won entry into today's World Cup qualifying Grand Prix during preliminary proceedings at the Dubai Show Jumping Championships.
The class, which allowed the top 25 Arab League riders to compete for 2011 World Cup qualifying points in today's Grand Prix, was won by the Irish Olympian Cian O'Connor on Larkhill Cruiser, who recorded the fastest clear round in 63.38 seconds.
Syria's Ahmed Hamcho was second on Watch Me De Reve Bovenhoekshof in 65.39, while Arif Ahmed of the UAE was third with Randor K in 65.59.
The second-to-go partnership of Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdullah bin Metab and Mobily Ashkur Allah Obelix led the field after their smooth, clear round in 77.60, but subsequent faster times knocked the pair into fourth.
"It's a shame I couldn't hang on to the lead, but for me the only goal was to qualify for the Grand Prix," Ahmed said after receiving his rosette and Dh18,000 prize money for third place.
"I didn't take the shortest route between the fences because I wanted to make sure I went clear. You will see that all the Arab riders were being very careful because the stakes here are very high; we want to get points towards World Cup qualification and in order to do that we had to qualify for the Grand Prix tomorrow.
"I'm very pleased with this result, though. UAE riders have done well and now we will be focused on the big class tomorrow as our goal is to have a UAE presence at the World Cup."
The Arab League has stopped off at Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria and Egypt so far this season and has come to the UAE for the final four shows in the series.
Arab riders on the hunt for World Cup points will move on to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and finally Al Ain at the end of this three-day event at Dubai International Endurance City. Egypt's Yayha Fahmy currently tops the World Cup qualification table with 54 points, Hani Kamal al Bisharat of Jordan has 46 and another Egyptian, Ahmed Alaa Ragab, has 45.
Mohammed al Owais is the highest-placed UAE rider with 29 points. The winning rider from today's Grand Prix will get 20 points to add to their World Cup qualification total, second place will get 17 and third place, 15. Only the top two riders will qualify for April's 2011 World Cup, which will be held in Leipzig, Germany.
UAE riders who have not travelled to the other qualification shows in the region will be focusing on the four UAE qualification classes to accumulate all-important World Cup points. "This is a very important show for the UAE riders," said Paul McAuley, manager at Emirates Equestrian Centre.