DUBAI // Nine UAE riders won entry into today's World Cup qualifying Grand Prix during preliminary proceedings at the Dubai Show Jumping Championships.
The class, which allowed the top 25 Arab League riders to compete for 2011 World Cup qualifying points in today's Grand Prix, was won by the Irish Olympian Cian O'Connor on Larkhill Cruiser, who recorded the fastest clear round in 63.38 seconds.
Syria's Ahmed Hamcho was second on Watch Me De Reve Bovenhoekshof in 65.39, while Arif Ahmed of the UAE was third with Randor K in 65.59.
The second-to-go partnership of Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdullah bin Metab and Mobily Ashkur Allah Obelix led the field after their smooth, clear round in 77.60, but subsequent faster times knocked the pair into fourth.
"It's a shame I couldn't hang on to the lead, but for me the only goal was to qualify for the Grand Prix," Ahmed said after receiving his rosette and Dh18,000 prize money for third place.
"I didn't take the shortest route between the fences because I wanted to make sure I went clear. You will see that all the Arab riders were being very careful because the stakes here are very high; we want to get points towards World Cup qualification and in order to do that we had to qualify for the Grand Prix tomorrow.
"I'm very pleased with this result, though. UAE riders have done well and now we will be focused on the big class tomorrow as our goal is to have a UAE presence at the World Cup."
The Arab League has stopped off at Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria and Egypt so far this season and has come to the UAE for the final four shows in the series.
Arab riders on the hunt for World Cup points will move on to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and finally Al Ain at the end of this three-day event at Dubai International Endurance City. Egypt's Yayha Fahmy currently tops the World Cup qualification table with 54 points, Hani Kamal al Bisharat of Jordan has 46 and another Egyptian, Ahmed Alaa Ragab, has 45.
Mohammed al Owais is the highest-placed UAE rider with 29 points. The winning rider from today's Grand Prix will get 20 points to add to their World Cup qualification total, second place will get 17 and third place, 15. Only the top two riders will qualify for April's 2011 World Cup, which will be held in Leipzig, Germany.
UAE riders who have not travelled to the other qualification shows in the region will be focusing on the four UAE qualification classes to accumulate all-important World Cup points. "This is a very important show for the UAE riders," said Paul McAuley, manager at Emirates Equestrian Centre.
sports@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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'Cheb%20Khaled'
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Results
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