Abu Dhabi: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, secured a historic double in the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships in the UK Saturday.
He won the individual gold medal and also led the UAE squad to the team gold at the event, which was held at Euston Hall near Thetford, Suffolk.
Riding 12-year-old Madji Du Pont, Shaikh Mohammad galloped to the finish to lead home a 1-2-3 finish of the individual medals, with Shaikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum winning the silver and Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri the bronze.
Shaikh Mohammad covered the 160km distance in a time of 7 hours 00:45 minutes with an average speed of 22.8km, while Shaikh Rashid was clocked at 7:01.04 and Ali Khalfan at 7:01.04.
Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture on Nadhira Du Breuil, and Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad Belqaizi completed the testing ride to ensure that the UAE retained their team gold at the world championship.
Speaking on Dubai Racing channel on television, Shaikh Mohammad said he was thrilled to win the world championship and congratulated his team for winning the gold medal once again.
“The weather could have been worse, but God was kind and gave us some good conditions in which to race,” he said. “This feels great.”
Dubai-based Spanish rider Maria Alvarez Ponton, who was attempting to make history by winning a fifth successive championship having won two world and two European titles since 2008, finished fourth in a time of 7:12:55. Fellow Spanish rider Alex Luque Moral took fifth place in 7:20.21.
