Qatar Horse Endurance Racing Season Opens Friday

Al Shaqab Focused on Preparation for 2010 World Championships
(Doha, Qatar – Nov. 5, 2009) Al Shaqab’s Endurance Team, member of Qatar Foundation, returns to action on Friday, Nov. 6, as the Qatar season gets underway with two events scheduled. This marks the team’s first race since returning from a successful European campaign in France this past summer.

The team will compete in both the 80km and 60km races at the Qatar Endurance Village in Mesaieed, Qatar. The pre-ride vet check will start at 1 p.m, and the ride starts at 4 p.m.

This summer, the Al Shaqab Endurance Team experienced great success in Europe, winning five of the ten races in which they competed. Faleh Nasser Al Naimi captured the team’s most outstanding victory this summer, winning the individual World Championship 130km title for 7-year-old horses in Compeigne, France.

The Al Shaqab Chairman is H.E Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani and the Director is Claudia Starr. Al Shaqab’s Endurance Department is headed by General Supervisor Owaida Al Hajeri, Manager and Trainer Hadi Nasser Al Naimi and Assistant Trainer Jabr Nasser Al Ramzani.

The team will compete in Qatar throughout the season in preparation for the World Endurance Championship to be held in Lexington, Ky., USA, in Sept. 2010.

Al Shaqab was founded in 1992 by The Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani to preserve and further develop the Arabian horse in Qatar; the Endurance Team was added in 1997. In 2004, Al Shaqab became a member of Qatar Foundation. Al Shaqab’s mission, to promote the highest standards in the breeding and showing of Arabian horses and provide innovative, educational and competitive opportunities in all of the equestrian arts.