Sheikh Mohammed leads UAE victory at horse endurance world championships

SUFFOLK, UK // The UAE claimed double gold last night after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai spearheaded victory at the World Endurance Championships.

Sheikh Mohammed claimed the individual gold medal at the competition, held at Euston Hall in Suffolk, England, covering the 180km course on Madji Du Pont in just over seven hours.

Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum took silver in the event, and Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri bronze to complete a 1-2-3 victory for the Emirates team and ensure they retained the endurance horse racing world championship title.

The course comprises of six loops of between 20km and 38km each, which took riders on different routes through the Suffolk countryside - covering a variety of terrain from heath to forrest and rivers.

The win is the third in a row for the UAE, following success in the 2008 championship in Malaysia and the 2010 event in Kentucky.

Spaniard Maria Alvarez Ponton, who was bidding to win his fifth successful championship since 2008, came fourth.

"The weather could have been worse, but God was kind and gave us some good conditions in which to race," Sheikh Mohammad told Dubai Racing after the win.

"This feels great."