QOC
With just over a week before the Longines Global Champions Tour finals get underway in Doha, Qatar, Sheikh Ali Bin Khalid Al Thani reveals the pressure to perform on home soil and his dream is to “make my country proud and inspire the next generation."
With LGCT Doha hitting AL SHAQAB from 8th – 10th November, all eyes will be on the very best horses and riders in the sport as they battle for supremacy in the world's premier show jumping series. In an exclusive interview ahead of the event Sheikh Ali revealed: “What motivates me every day is to be successful. I work hard, I train, I go to the gym before riding, I have a programme and a plan of where I want to be.
But success to me is defined as making my country proud. To bring home medals for Qatar and to represent my country against the best of the best. My dream is to win a LGCT Grand Prix, and to bring an Olympic medal home for Qatar, particularly as a team."
Competing internationally around the world Sheikh Ali has been flying the Qatari flag for show jumping, consistently jumping at the highest level against the top ranked riders in the world. But as LGCT and GCL look to AL SHAQAB – a member of the Qatar Foundation – in Doha, after a global circuit including cities such as Miami Beach, Shanghai, Paris, Rome and London, competing at home is different, as Sheikh Ali explains: “There is more pressure for us at the event in Doha.
We are motivated, you have the crowd, your family, everyone watching and you need to do well. We want to show our country what we we are doing and how we are improving. Every year there is a Qatari rider in the top ten, and it was perfect last year that Bassem [Hassan Mohammed] won. The facilities are top [at AL SHAQAB] – I can't talk too much about it as I am from there! But the feeling is we want to do our very best for our country and show our people and country that our team are working hard in Europe and heading in the right direction."
Taking a step back from the competition itself, Sheikh Ali reflects on the significance of having LGCT hosted by his country. “Qatar has a big vision for sport, not just equestrian. So in every sport Qatar is choosing the best. For example in equestrian they are bringing the best Tour that has ever happened – the Longines Global Champions Tour is the best there is in show jumping. If you see also in other sport we are looking to the 2022 World Cup in football, the handball final has already been hosted here, and the athletics championships run in our country."