Tribune News Network
Doha
The annual calendar of the activities of the Qatari equestrian season, which began in September with the Qatar Equestrian Tour - Longines Hathab at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s indoor arena and the fourth round of the 14-leg series of which is ongoing this weekend, will swing into full action from October, the Qatar Equestrian & Modern Pentathlon Federation (QEFMP) announced on Thursday.
The 2022-23 season which will see the showjumping and dressage events take a break during the forthcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will however continue with Qatar Racing & Equestrian Federation (QREC) racing events and horse beauty shows besides endurance races which has been added to the annual calendar by the QEFMP from this season.
The Al Shaqab equestrian centre for excellence will also host the two international and popular championships - Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB presented by Longines (from 23rd – 25th February 2023) at its Longines Indoor and Outdoor Arena, and the Longines Global Champions Tour (from 2nd – 4th March 2023) at the Longines Outdoor Arena.
The Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB championships include showjumping, dressage and para dressage events with international and national participants.
The prestigious HH The Amir’s Sword Festival 2022-23 for horseracing, showjumping and endurance competitions will be held in February, 2023. The finale of the Festival will be at QREC’s Al Rayyan racecourse.
The races for His Highness the Amir, organized by QREC, will also see the Qatari Endurance Race at the same time to crown the winners of the The Three Swords to be held on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at the special annual event.
The flat racing season, organised by QREC, will see a total 69 races at the Al Rayyan and Al Uqda racecourses on sand and turf tracks.
With a total number of 548 runs on both tracks, the horseracing action will begin with a sprint Al Ghariya Cup at Al Rayyan Racecourse on October 12, 2022, and with the Umm Swayya Cup races on turf on November 19 at Al Uqda Racecourse.
The 2022/2023 annual racing season witnesses many major races, the most important of which is the
HH The Amir Sword Festival (February 16-18, 2023), the Grand Prize for the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani and the National Day Award (December 16th 2022), the Qatar Derby Festival (December 29, 2022), and His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Prize Al Thani (January 5, 2023), and the Rifle of His Excellency Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani (January 21, 2023), And the award of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani (March 16, 2023), the Golden Sword of Qatar and Qatar Gold Sword (6 April 2023).
The season will conclude with the Final Cup race on the 24th of April 2023.
In addition, the QREC horse show season will feature three auctions, 7 local and international championships, the most important of which is the third Katara International Arabian Horse Festival (KIAHF), which has achieved remarkable success in the past two years, and the fourth Souq Waqif Arabian Horse Championship, and the 12th Qatar International Arabian Peninsula Horse Championship.
While the equestrian events will take a break during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in November and December this year, several equestrian events including Horseback Riding Archery Shows will be held at Al Shaqab organised by the Qatar Equestrian Federation. It will include multiple activities that highlight the Qatari folklore in the field of equestrianism to form an important attraction for visitors at the World Cup, details of which will be announced soon.