Abdullah Al Sharbatli riding high in Abu Dhabi

Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Sharbatli continued his flawless run in the UAE, following up his victories on Larkhill Cruiser in Dubai last weekend, with another impressive win in the Abu Dhabi World Cup Qualifier last night. The 29-year-old showjumper, who was a silver medallist at the World Equestrian Games in 2010 in Kentucky, placed first in every class he competed in last weekend in Dubai and appears to be on his way to completing a similar feat in the capital this weekend heading into today’s Grand Prix, set to take place at 5pm at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club. “The competition here is fantastic, it’s really good, I like it and I have a lot of success here. And I like the Emirati people, they’re so nice and friendly, and the organisation, it’s amazing. It can’t be better,” said Sharbatli after winning the Qualifier for today’s finale. 56 riders were on the start list for the major show of the day including 48 from the Arab region. The UAE’s Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum was fifth to go in the ring on Kalaska de Semilly and the Emirati was the first to go clear clocking 80.71s. Four jumps later Egypt’s Nael Nassar, who was third in the smaller class earlier, jumped a clear round on Raging Bull Vangelis in 75.48s, a time which was immediately eclipsed by Irish rider Marion Hughes, who went clear in 73.81s on Crispien. Italian Andrea Sakakini bettered that with a clear round in 73.04s but it wasn’t long before Sharbatli stole the show with a 65.20s clear round, to prove once again that he is in a league of his own. Germany’s Jorg Naeve was the only one to come close to the Saudi Arabian’s timing when he went clear in 67.94s but it wasn’t enough to snatch first place from Sharbatli, who picked up Dh33,990 for his win and will now lead the top 25 riders from yesterday’s competition into the Grand Prix. Naeve finished second taking home Dh20,600 and Saudi Arabia’s Khaled Al Eid placed third clocking 70.25s on Vanhoeve. Sheikha Latifa was the highest ranked Emirati rider as her clear round placed her in 11th place. Al Eid, a bronze medallist in individual showjumping at the Sydney Olympics 12 years ago, said: “We expect the biggest Grand Prix here. In Abu Dhabi, the fences are usually high but the courses are always fair. “The surface is great, there are nice fences, and the competition is always strong.”