UAE Equestrian Team Secures Dramatic Individual Silver at Asian Games

The UAE added another prestigious equestrian medal to its collection at the 2026 Asian Games on Sunday. Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, riding Hudson de Vains, claimed an individual silver medal following a thrilling three-way jump-off held at JRA Equestrian Park in Tokyo.

This achievement builds upon the silver medal earned by the Emirates riders in the team final on Thursday, bringing the UAE's total medal count at the Asian Games to 12—comprising seven gold, four silver, and one bronze.

In Competition A, Humaid Abdulla Khalifa Al Muhairi narrowly missed a podium finish, taking fourth place aboard Mentos. Meanwhile, in the newly introduced 1.55m Competition B, Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi finished sixth riding Enjoy de la Mure, while Sheikha Latifah Bint Ahmed Al Maktoum secured seventh place with Cornet XL.

Reflecting on his performance, Abdullah stated, "I'm happy to finish second, but of course I could have been first. That's the sport. It's always up and down, and you never know whether you're going to win, be placed or be out of the competition. But I'm happy with a medal." He added, "I'm so proud of Hudson. He's just nine years old and still lacks some experience, but our competitions and training over the summer have really paid off."

The battle for the podium concluded dramatically. Qatar's Faleh Alajmi initiated the jump-off, finishing with a fence down in 40.88 seconds. Abdullah entered the arena aiming for a clean round to target gold, but increased his pace due to the excitement, resulting in a fault at an oxer and a time of 41.93 seconds. Saudi Arabia's Khaled Almobty, jumping last, also lowered the final fence, securing Qatar the top spot and leaving Saudi Arabia with the bronze.

Discussing his strategy, Abdullah noted, "After I saw the Qatari rider have a fence down, my plan was to go clear. But you never know. When you're in the ring, you want to go faster."

In Competition B's demanding 1.55m course featuring 15 efforts, Al Marzooqi delivered an excellent clear round aboard Enjoy de la Mure to finish sixth overall. Sheikha Latifah, who entered the decisive second round on zero faults, unfortunately had two fences down, placing seventh. Expressing her thoughts, she said, "I'm very disappointed with my round. I'm not disappointed with my riding, just disappointed with the result. The way he jumped every other fence, I don't think the result does justice to his performance."