Caitlin Dillon
On the first day of the Longines Global Champions Tour,
hosted at Qatar Foundation’s Al Shaqab, Bassem Mohammed, with 12-year-old
Areglith Squid in tow, ranked joint first alongside Frenchman Julien Epaillard
in the CSI5* 1.45m, with a time of 24.85 seconds. Having won the Grand Prix on
home turf last year, and ranked second in Miami in April, expectations were
high for the Qatari this time around.
With Dutchman Maikel van der Vlueten maintaining the top
spot for almost half of the competition with a time of 25.70 seconds,
eventually Norweigian Geir Gulliksen knocked him off the top spot, beating his
time by a quarter of a second. However, it was not long before Epillard stormed
into first place, with Bassem then matching his time to the millisecond, a rare
occurrence in showjumping, only minutes later. The penultimate rider, Irish
Bertram Allen, knocked Gulliksen out of the top three, and secured his spot
with a time of 25.16 seconds.
Speaking after his victory, Bassem said, “It's very nice to
start the weekend with the win. I know Julien is fast and I saw him before I
went in. I tried my best and ended up with the win."
Later on in the team event, Bassem led Doha Fursan Qatar to
a third-place finish with his teammate Michael Whitaker in the first round of
the Global Champions League. Bassem, this time with 12-year-old Gunder, and
Whitaker, with 11-year-old Strides Hilanasterne, achieved a combined 160.11
seconds.
The fierce competition will continue at Al Shaqab over the
weekend, culminating with the €375,000 Grand Prix on Saturday at 17:45.