Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum: A true inspiration for UAE women

03:41 02/12/0002
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  • The UAE is a country with huge tradition in equestrian sports – but it’s safe to say the boost Emirati showjumping is currently receiving can be largely attributed to Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum.

    With the help of a new young showjumping generation, Sheikha Latifa’s incredible accomplishments over the past six years have raised the profile of the equestrian discipline that had often taken a backseat to the UAE’s global success in endurance racing.

    Sheikha Latifa got a taste of triumph on the national level as early as 2003 when she won the UAE Showjumping Championship in Abu Dhabi when she was only 18 years old.

    She got to shine on the international stage three years later when she flew to participate in the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar as a member of the UAE team.

    She admitted at the time that she had no expectations from that trip except that it was a chance for her to get some international exposure.

    But Sheikha Latifa and her team left Qatar with something much sweeter than that; they defied expectation and clinched the bronze medal ahead of well-established equestrian teams from Qatar, Japan and Malaysia.

    And that was enough to spark the ambition in Sheikha Latifa, who from then on had her heart set on bigger and tougher goals.

    Global honours

    Four months after her medalling efforts in Doha, she returned to the GCC nation to compete in the 
Seventh Qatar International Showjumping Championship in the individual event. Except this was no random competition.

    A good result was going to send Sheikha Latifa to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the pressure was on.

    On the concluding day of the Championship, she clocked an impressive 47.72 seconds on her horse, Kalaska De Semilly, in the individual qualifier to come in third behind two Saudi jumpers who had already qualified to Beijing and ahead of three other riders who were vying for an Olympic spot.

    And that third-place showing was enough to make her the first Emirati woman to qualify for an equestrian event in the Olympics, and the second Arab woman after Jordanian Princess Haya bint al Hussein, who took part in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

    “My happiness at that moment was indescribable and I couldn’t stop crying,” Sheikha Latifa said after finding out she had qualified.

    “It was the fruit of my hard work and I felt that the whole world had their eyes on me and that suddenly I had a huge responsibility on my shoulders.”

    Her Olympic debut was celebrated by the entire country and even though she placed 54 out of 77 riders in the first qualifier, she was quick to point out the positives from her 
experience in China and was ready to get back on the horse and work on her performance straight away.

    She had gone to Beijing with two main goals on her agenda; to create a respectable image for UAE sport in general, and for Arab women in particular, and indeed she achieved both.

    Sheikha Latifa divides her time between two things only – training and competing. So to say she is a dedicated athlete is certainly an understatement.

    In 2009, her schedule included no less than 45 competitions in Spain, France and the UAE, where she won more than one event.

    And the hard work eventually paid off as she received one of the sport’s greatest honours by being part of the UAE team qualifying for the very first time for one of the world’s most prestigious equestrian events – the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, USA, last October.

    The presence of the UAE team there only proved the progress Sheikha Latifa and co were making in the showjumping world and they held their own against their rivals in Lexington, giving a strong and memorable performance.

    Stronghold on Asia

    Sheikha Latifa’s phenomenal 2010 did not end there.

    She returned to the Asian Games, this time in Guangzhou, China, and after the UAE went on a dry spell for the first eight days of the Games, Sheikha Latifa broke the drought for her country capturing the silver medal in the individual event and another silver in the team competition, thus bettering their bronze showing in Doha four years earlier.

    This November, Abu Dhabi will host the finale of the Global Champions Tour (GCT) – one of showjumping’s most glamorous series – joining cities like Monte Carlo, Cannes and Rio de Janeiro as one of the stops for the ¤1 million (Dh5.15m) event.

    Staging this grand event that will feature the world’s top 30 ranked riders is further testimony to the UAE’s growing influence in the sport and Sheikha Latifa can find pride in the role she played in achieving that.

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