“I take this opportunity to extend hearty congratulations to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan for this achievement,” Prince Nawaf said while underscoring the government’s generous support to sports, especially equestrian events.
Al-Sharbatly expressed his delight over the win. “I am presenting this victory to King Abdullah as a gift on the occasion of his recovery following a back surgery, in appreciation of his unlimited support to the sport of equestrian,” he said.
Sharbatly, the winner in Dubai two weeks ago, rode a flawless round on the 14-year-old bay mare Columbia II to triumph in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club recently and take an unassailable lead in the World Cup qualifiers.
“The beauty of show jumping is that it’s not the best who always win, but the best combination on the night,” said the 27-year-old silver medalist at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in September.
“There were several good riders and horses and my win doesn’t undermine the abilities of all those who competed on the night. Anyone could have won on any given day, but fortunately for me, it was my turn to win again,” he said.
Al-Sharbatly clocked 62.1 seconds to pip his Saudi teammate Khaled Abdulaziz Al Eid (62.47) on Jalla De Gaverie. Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum (65.14) on Kalaska denied the Saudis a clean sweep by claiming third place ahead of Prince Abdullah bin Miteb on Mobily Ashkur. Allah Obelix clocked 61.25 but knocked down an obstacle.
Sharbatly’s victory in the four-star ride in the capital gave him 20 points and a major share of the Dh300,000 prize money. It also took his qualifying points tally to 70, 17 points more than his closest challenger, Yahya Fahmy of Egypt, with one qualifying event left in Sharjah set for Jan. 27-29.
The Sharjah event, which does not have as many points as the four-star championship in Abu Dhabi, will be the last round of the regional qualifiers after the event in Syria was canceled. “I will give it a think-over if I will go to Sharjah, now that I have already qualified,” said Sharbatly, who owns five horses and is a full-time rider.
“If you have to have success at the international level, you need to be a professional. This is my full-time job and there are many like me in Saudi Arabia.”
Al-Sharbatly’s triumph evoked a sense of pride among the Arab equestrian fraternity and they cheered their stars bidding to qualify for the World Cup. Only the top two riders at the end of the Middle East series will make the trip to Leipzig, Germany.
