Saudi showjumpers buy horse power for Games
WE HAD TOP-LEVEL RIDERS BUT LACKED IN HORSES, OFFICIAL SAYS
Saudi Arabia’s surprise bronze in Olympic team showjumping means a little-known organisation called Saudi Equestrian has achieved a goal set in 2009 — to buy great horses and succeed in London.
Saudi Equestrian has bought top jumpers from the United States, Great Britain and continental Europe in the past two years — the horse power that helped propel Prince Abdullah Al Saud, the king’s grandson, and his team mates to Games success.
The Saudi team were in front after Sunday’s first round when even reigning world champions Germany failed to make the cut. Then they defeated reigning Olympic champions the United States and stalwarts such as Sweden and Switzerland in the second to win their first-ever team equestrian medal.
Their best prior Olympic result in horse sports came when rider Khalid Al Eid won individual jumping bronze at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, something the team described as inspirational.
Chef d’equipe Rogier van Iersel, a former international judge from the Netherlands who has been working with the Saudis since 2006, said his goal was just to get to the second round. What happened was well beyond expectations.
“I had seen for a long time that we had top-level riders but we lacked the horse power,” he said. “And horse power comes with finding the right resources to buy these horses.”
Resources to bear
It was to bring these resources to bear that Saudi Equestrian was formed with King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz as its patron. The six riders selected to form its talent core then began combing the world for horses they thought would do well.
The horses had to be ready for the top, because Saudi Equestrian was on a clock if they were to reach the London
The policy is not to buy young horses and to hopefully have them develop to a good level, because then you have a lot of disappointments. The target is to buy proven quality.”
Chef d’equipe
goal. “The policy is not to buy young horses and to hopefully have them develop to a good level, because then you have a lot of disappointments. The target is to buy proven quality,” said van Iersel.
If a chosen horse was for sale — and not every one was, regardless of price — it would be vet-checked and then tried by the rider to see if they’d suit since the match between rider and horse is as important as the skill of either.
To buy Olympic-level horses can run into millions of dollars. But Saudi Equestrian won’t give on money matters.
“Anyone knows that the horses we have are not cheap horses,” van Iersel said. When asked about his purchase budget, he said money issues were the province of the board of directors.
No time
Many riders from top equestrian nations buy horses or, more often, have horses bought for them. The difference is they usually buy younger and train, but Saudi Equestrian didn’t have the time.
Margaret Liningon-Payne, director of standards at the British Horse Society, said the horses had to be European.
“The Saudi equine heritage, the Arab horses that they have, aren’t really suitable for the equine disciplines found in the Olympics. So they would need to look elsewhere for their horses,” she said.
“It can take more than 10 years to produce a top-class horse.”
Saudi Equestrian bought Prince Abdullah’s horse Davos from American show jumper Candice King in June last year.
Abdullah Waleed Al Sharbatly’s horse Sultan came on board in January, after being ridden by top British rider Bruce Menzies.
Training and stable management expertise also came from the West — trainer Stanny Van Paesschen from Belgium, stable manager Peter Aitken from Canada and van Iersel himself.