UAE contingent look to reclaim Royal Windsor Endurance honours

Some of the UAE’s top endurance athletes have joined forces as part of a potent 31-rider UAE contingent that will look to reclaim the honours at Royal Windsor Endurance 2025 on Friday.

The event at Windsor Great Park in the United Kingdom is an FEI competition comprising 3*, 2* and 1* rides with an international field of horses, riders, trainers, grooms and support crew.

The CEI3* competition is the longest and most arduous of the three events and challenges rider-horse pairings along a 160 km course split into five phases. Meanwhile, the CEI2* and CEI1* events are four-phase 120 km and three-phase 100 km rides, respectively. The endurance competition is part of the larger Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Emirati riders have won six of the 11 editions of Royal Windsor Endurance since its commencement in 2013, making the UAE the most successful nation in the history of the event with past Emirati champions including Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Defence, who helped the UAE defend the title in the second edition in 2014 after Rashed Mohammed Al Baloushi’s victory in the inaugural event in 2013.

Saif Al Mazrouei celebrated success two years later in 2016 when the event was contested as a CEI2* event over a 120 km circuit and will look to finish atop the podium once again, while Saeed Hamoud Al Khayari and Ghanim Said Al Owaisi won the 2017 and 2019 renditions before the historic 2023 iteration where the UAE won all three rides, with the honours of the main event swept up by Fares Ahmad Al Mansoori. Mazrouei, Khayari and Mansoori are part of the strong Emirati contingent that will look to stop four-time winners and defending champions Bahrain.

Commenting on the event Sheikh Rashed Bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Equestrian Club, said: “It is with great pride that we announce the UAE Team’s participation in Royal Windsor Endurance. Our riders have demonstrated exceptional dedication, resilience, and unity in preparing for this prestigious event and I am confident that our team will represent the country with honour and distinction, embodying the spirit of endurance, excellence, and sportsmanship at every stage of the competition.

“Thanks to the ongoing support by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the sport of endurance has made tremendous leaps both locally and internationally, with Emirati riders achieving great results and proving their abilities on all platforms.

“This competition is our chance to prove what we’ve trained for, to push limits, and to compete with heart. Our team is ready to rise to the challenge, make our mark and we look forward to competing with integrity and excellence.”

Royal Windsor Endurance enjoys a unique setting through Windsor Great Park with riders departing at the crack of dawn to tackle routes that take competitors through stunning scenery and iconic sites including the Copper Horse, Long Walk, the Philip Jackson equestrian statue of Queen Elizabeth II and Smith’s Lawn, known for hosting top-flight polo action.

The course tests the pairings over different terrain including woodland tracks, grassland, water and roadways, as well as varying light levels through often dense tree coverage.

Speaking of the UAE participation in the event, Ahmed Rashed Al Kaabi, Acting General Manager of Dubai Equestrian Club, who is also the Chef d’Equipe of UAE team said: “This is a very prestigious ride internationally in which the UAE has enjoyed a lot of success.”