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Double Delight for France’s Epaillard on Day 1 of Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines

Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines, the signature event of Al Shaqab, member of Qatar Foundation, got off to an exciting start at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab today. 

With 88 riders from 23 countries competing in the Olympic disciplines of showjumping, dressage, and para dressage, fans enjoyed a mix of equestrian action on the first day of the world-class international equestrian competition, .

Julian Epaillard, of France, riding Virtuose Champeix, emerged victorious in the CSI5* 1.50m Against the clock Showjumping class in a time of 64.09 secs. Scott Brash, of Great Britain, on Hello Shelby, finished second in 64.25 secs, while Maikel van der Vleuten of Netherlands, riding Dana Blue, claimed third place in 65.87 secs.

It was a double victory for the Frenchman, who won the CSI5* 1.45m Two Phases Showjumping class as well.Epaillard, astride Alibi de la Roque clocked 25.10 secs. Van der Vleuten, riding Edinburgh, was placed second with a time of 26.18 secs, and Emanuele Gaudiano, of Italy, on Kingston van het Eikenhof, claimed third place, with a time of 26.27 secs.

The first day of the world-class equestrian competition began with a Team Test in para dressage. In keeping with FEI (International Equestrian Federation) standards, all para dressage events are conducted in grades depending on the rider’s disability.

Jens Lasse Dokkan of Norway won in the Grade 1 category with 73.988 points while Pepo Puch of Austria with 74.293 points and Rixt van der Horst of Netherlands with 72,500 points were declared winners of Grade II and Grade III respectively. Rodolpho Riskalla of Brazil with 74.500 points and Ciska Vermeulen of Belgium with 72.132 points were the winners in Grade IV and Grade V respectively.

Once again this year, the Al Shaqab Internations Camp, for talented young riders from around the world, and the local Longines Hathab – Qatar Equestrian Tour (Tour 8) are being held alongside Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines.

Qatar’s Ali Mohammed Al Marri riding Fernhill Friendly Touch won the Dressage Level 1, scoring 69.828 points in Longines Hathab – Qatar Equestrian Tour, while Jessica Waldon, of Great Britain, on Lusso Del Castegno was placed second with 69.655 points. Qatar’s Saeed Hamad Al Rashdi, on Graffiti Delully Ch took third place with 69.138 points.

Participants in the Al Shaqab Internations Camp competed in the first round of qualifications. The camp is organized by Al Shaqab’s Equine Education Department.

In the lead is Team Laffan - led by Ghanim Nasser Al-Qadi with team members Jodie Creighton and Ellen Samantha Churchill. They clocked a time of 113.41sec. Team Al Uddaid comprising Faris Saad Al-Qahtani, Talal Abushosha from and Pedro Boari emerged second, with a time of 129.85 sec.

The Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines continues into the weekend.  Tickets for the event, including exclusive VIP packages, are available online at https://www.q-tickets.com/ or through the Al Shaqab website (www.alshaqab.com).

For the convenience of spectators, Al Shaqab is providing a free shuttle bus service from the Al Shaqab metro station (Green Line) to the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab. The service will run at 10-minute intervals over all three days of the event, which ends on 29 February.