High standard of competitors highlights Dubai Sustainable City caliber: Jisr

Amir Naqvi, Sports Editor

The organisers of the Sustainable City International Horse Show 2020 hailed the success of the third edition of its annual show-jumping competition held earlier.

Around 200 riders representing different countries took part, doubling the number from the 2019 edition of the show and consolidating the year-on-year success of the event on a regional and international scale.

The Sustainable City Horse Jumping competition, held with the support of UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation (UAEERF), was CSI2* ranked event recognised by the FEI, the international governing body of equestrian sports.

Karim El Jisr, Chief Social Sustainability officer at the iconic Sustainable City, expressed delight over the success of the event which witnessed the participation of top riders from the UAE, the GCC, and Europe.

“I was particularly pleased with the high standard of competition and of the performance of the Arab riders who were competing alongside the best jumpers from around the world,” he said.

“The International Horse Show is in the line with its mission to promote social sustainability and happiness, The Sustainable City consistently organises events of this calibre under myriad themes, covering, among others, the arts, wellness, and education to ensure that its community and the lives of its residents are instilled with joy and inspiration throughout the year,” added Jisr.

Danish veteran Tina Lund took top honours in the CSI2* Grand Prix at the Dubai Sustainable City after she and Emirati counterpart Salim Ahmed Al Suwaidi turned out to be the only two riders to have gone through the two round event flawlessly.

Riding Beyond Fellow Dancing K, Lund completed the second round with a time of 46.28 seconds which was just 0.24s quicker than the 46.52s time posted by Suwaidi aboard Diamond Way.

The pair weren’t the quickest during the event where the obstacles were set at a height of 145cm, but they rode without fault over both rounds, with Suwaidi quicker of the two over the first round when posting a time of 74.93s compared to Lund’s 79.81s.

Ahmed Mansour rounded off the podium with a time of 41.48s, but his four faults from Round 1 ruined his chances of a top place finish. Ireland’s Jack Ryan won the CSI2* Big Tour (140cm) event with Guminka in a time of 46.17s, with Great Britain’s Georgia Tame taking second aboard Z7 Ascot with 49.01s on the clock.

Another highlight of the event was the Horseman Elite Auction, an exclusive market of high-end breeding that presented a fabulous mix of foals, embryos, and in-foal broodmares.

The location of the stables inside Dubai’s picturesque Sustainable City makes it the perfect place to organise an event of such calibre.

“The Sustainable City in Dubai embraces the three pillars of sustainability; social, environmental, and economic, across one all-inclusive and comprehensive community landscape,” said Jisr.