Majid Al Qassimi: the UAE’s equestrian dream

We talk to the Emirati show jumper Majid Al Qassimi about his ride to the top.

Majid Al Qassimi mounts his horse Celtion at Sharjah Equestrian & Racing Club, with the help of his trainer, Pia Kjellstrom. Alex Atack for The National

Majid Al Qassimi has been around horses since he was a toddler, and thanks to his determination, he's ridden his way to the top of his game.

“My father started the Sharjah Equestrian [& Racing] Club in 1982. I used to go there every day, I think,” he says. “Since I was like 2 or 3 years old, I was jumping on ponies.”

The Sharjah-based equestrian talent, who six years ago participated in the World Equestrian Games as part of the first Emirati national team to compete, admits he wasn’t a particularly talented young rider, but he was a hard worker and had a passion for it from an early age.

“With passion you can learn anything,” he says on reflection. “I used to go [to the club] with my father [every day]. I remember going on that road [to the club], and I’d get goosebumps every time. As we reached closer, I just couldn’t wait.”

Al Qassimi’s first show was at the age of 11, and in his own words, it was “bad”.

“I think I was too excited,” he admits. “In competition, when you go into the ring, they ring a bell – that’s when you go. I think I was too nervous and excited – I started to jump, and they were pushing the bell for me to stop.”

He was eliminated, and understandably devastated. “I was in tears, it was so bad. I never did that again, never – I always waited for the bell.”

Despite that traumatic experience, he picked himself up, and with the help of his father, took ownership of his first pony, the first of many. According to Al ­Qassimi, it had a mind of its own.

“I don’t know why, but my ponies were always bad. They had real personality. My first pony was called Tomboy. In the showjumping circuit you have 12 fences. He was always jumping clear until the last fence. When I reached fence 12, he would just stop and wouldn’t jump, and I was always eliminated,” the 30-year-old ­recalls.

Al Qassimi learnt to control his rides, however, and as the years went by, he acquired better horses, and continued to improve. His relentless training and the continuous fine-tuning of his raw talent helped, too.

By 2009, and with lots of meets under his belt, Al Qassimi realised his lifelong dream of being good enough to compete at the World Equestrian Games. Then an employee of the Sharjah ­Government’s tourism department, he qualified to be part of the UAE team to compete in the United States the following year.

“It was the first UAE team to ever be part of the World Equestrian Games,” he says. “It was an unbelievable experience.”

“Walking into that ring is something that I will never forget. As I was walking in it felt very surreal. It was a big stadium. I still have goosebumps when I think of the silence. The whole thing was just a minute, but it felt like a lifetime.”

He says he can still recall the sound of his horse’s breath as he galloped to the first fence. “That was my proudest moment,” Al ­Qassimi says.

While riding requires individual strength and discipline, he didn’t achieve this international glory on his own. Al Qassimi was helped by his equine best friend, a bay gelding called Co-Jack.

“In 2009, the Ruler of ­Sharjah gave us [the team of eight] a budget. I decided to buy a horse so I could jump the higher fences. So I bought Co-Jack, and in one year it was just like a magic-­carpet ride. It was unbelievable,” he says. “I started jumping in the Arab League, and I placed in every grand prix. He was the best horse I ever had.

“The connection you get with horses, no one can understand. It’s not normal for a horse to jump the fence. A horse will jump only if it wants to; if a horse doesn’t want to jump, you can’t force him, because he will throw you down. It’s the trust – it’s like you trust your life with them.”

Co-Jack and his master, who were based in Germany in the months leading up to the 2010 World Equestrian Games, went on to compete in the Asian Games in China later that year, where he finished fifth in the individual competition, and earned a silver medal alongside his UAE teammates.

After a self-imposed four-year hiatus from the sport following his international debut, Co-Jack continued to hold a special place in Al Qassimi’s heart and those of his family.

“My younger brother, Ali, took him, and qualified for the next World Equestrian Games. He was based in Holland, but very sadly the horse passed away a month before [last year’s] Games.

“[Ali] was in a competition in Europe a month before, and the horse got a virus during a show, and this virus kept him paralysed in a way, and he started to lose feeling in his legs. We had to put him down.”

The connection the brothers built with Co-Jack was that strong that at Sharjah Equestrian Club, there’s a framed photograph of Ali leaning his head on Co-Jack’s just a couple of minutes before the horse was put down.

“That was the last moment,” says Al Qassimi. “It was very disappointing for my brother. He’s a very competitive rider. He wins every week, and for now, he has just one horse.”

Al Qassimi’s life outside equestrian has seen success, graduating from the American University of Sharjah with a degree in international studies and a master’s in diplomacy. Recently, he has assumed a position as a director with Sharjah’s newly established Authority of Government Relations.

He has recently completed his UAE national service, and got back into the saddle, with his sights set on Olympic glory.

“I started back about a year ago. [My passion] came back really fast. It was a good break, and I just found a new horse, I shipped her [from Europe].”

During the past 30 years, which have been filled with his love for horses and riding, the best piece of advice he has been given was from his father, Abdullah.

“He told me be patient and content with what you have, and that good things will always come if you work hard.”

And work hard he certainly has. “It’s not an easy sport,” he says. “What I like about it is that you can never say you have reached the top. Every year, the fences get higher, and the technicality goes higher, so if you are not up to your game, you’re out in a second.”