Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani
Qatar's top horsemen Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani and Bassem Hassan Mohammed will launch their equestrian season at this week's Global Champions Tour in Mexico City with hopes of producing a flying start to their 2017 campaign.
Sheikh Ali, who clinched 13th place at the FEI World Cup in the US last week, won the Emir’s Sword International Showjumping Championship six weeks ago by guiding Carolina 31 to victory at Doha's Qatar Equestrian Federation Outdoor Arena.
Last August, Ali was a member of the Qatar squad that featured in the Rio Games showjumping competition, finishing sixth on the final standings.
"We are already looking ahead," Sheikh Ali, 34, told The Peninsula recently.
"We have events like the World Cup and the (FEI) Nations Cup but we are looking at qualifying for the next Olympic Games in Tokyo," the Qatari said of his future plans.
"We have prepared for the next three events on our schedule. We have outlined the horses that will be taken to events," Sheikh Ali, the de-facto team anchor at the Rio Olympics last year, said.
"We normally don't overtax our rides. We keep them relaxed as far as possible," Sheikh Ali pointed out.
"But as a rider, I am passionate about doing well and I always try to win," the tall rider said.
Bassem, who became the first Qatari ever to win an LGCT Grand Prix when he rode Victoria to victory in Monaco in 2104, will also be eager to start the season with a creditable run in Mexico City.
The 15-stop LGCT season starts in Mexico City where world number 1 Daniel Deusser of Germany will lead the star cast of riders.
Deusser - who is set to ride for Shanghai Swans GCL team this season - will bea marked man at the April 6-9 event where top riders eventually set the pattern for title wins for the rest of the season in 2016.
Frenchman Roger-Yves Bost - also riding for Shanghai Swans GCL team - will be aiming to defend his title that he won last year in front of a packed house the Campo Marte. Last year Bost beat Ireland's Bertram Allen and Belgium's Jos Verlooy to the top spot.
In other top entries, British Olympic Gold Medallist and two-time LGCT Champion of Champions Scott Brash is expected to regale equestrian fans in Mexico City along with world number 3 Christian Ahlmann of
Germany. Ahlmann, who produced a string of good results in 2016, will be one of the men to watch in the 2017 season.
Mexican riders featuring this week include Enrique Gonzalez, Jaime Azcarraga, Federico Fernandez, Jose Antonio Chedraui E, Patricio Pasquel and Andres Azcarraga.
The Mexican group of riders will be joined by Simon Delestre (France), Kevin Staut (France), Steve Guerdat (Switzerland), Eric Lamaze (Canada), Harrie Smolders (Netherlands), Lorenzo de Luca (Italy), Gregory Wathelet (Belgium), Nicola Philippaerts (Belgium), Maikel van der Vleuten (Netherlands) and Jerome Guery (Belgium).
Last year's Mexico City leg proved to be an instant hit on its debut with more than 20,000 fans flocking to see the top riders in action.
The LGCT's 2017 season will also see the addition of two new events in London and Berlin as the hugely popular 15-stop series - with an increased 18 GCL teams taking part in second season of the League - reaches out to new audiences around the world.
