Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, July 20, 2024: One of the biggest stars of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, last year was Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Sharbatly.
The showjumping ace romped to a golden double, first as a member of the Kingdom’s jumping team and then in the individual event, dazzling the crowds at Tonglu with his supreme and graceful style.
Now his sights are set on Paris 2024 – and trying to match or better the bronze medal the Saudi jumping team won at London 2012.
“We were bronze medallists at the Olympics in London. The Saudi riders are top riders and I am expecting that we will be very competitive in the Olympic Games. Maybe we win gold or maybe we don't win anything. You never know. I believe in my colleagues. They are all top riders and deserve to win a medal – and I believe we can win a medal,” he said in a recent interview with Ecuestre media.
“In London we were leading; we were going to win the gold until the last round and we went back to bronze. So you never know. Maybe this time we are going to do it, Inshallah.”
Al Sharbatly knows that predictions are impossible in showjumping, as it depends on the mood and form of the horse on any given day.
“The problem is in showjumping you can't guarantee anything because you are dealing with an animal and if it’s not your day….You need luck as well. If it’s not your lucky day….
“There is a well known British saying ‘you win nothing without luck’, so you need to be lucky on that day and it needs to be your day, so you never know.
“Maybe the best combinations in the world will have No. 1 down so who knows? You might have a surprise.”
Al Sharbatly will be riding his top horse, the 16-year-old gelding Alamo, at Paris and feels he is in top form and ready for the challenge.