Media Manager of Longines Hathab Abdullah Al Qashouti
Doha: The sixth season of Qatar’s highly popular domestic equestrian series – Longines Hathab concluded with a thrilling finale at Al Shaqab on Saturday. Comprising various levels and categories of dressage and showjumping, Hathab this season had 14 rounds, two more than each season, to accommodate the growing number of riders and serious competition.
Hailing another successful season, Media Manager of Longines Hathab Abdullah Al Qashouti said the event is becoming popular every passing season, hoping the next edition will be bigger.
“As a Media Manager it was challenging to deliver the ideal image about Longines Hathab to the audience. To tell the people in Qatar - What’s Hathab and what’s going on. A lot of people are not aware about equestrian because it is not like football. It’s a specialized sport, so we try as best as we can to deliver a simple picture to those who do not know this sport - how it is going, what are its rules and how is someone winning, what are Future Riders which is the base for the growth of equestrian in Qatar,” he told reporters.
“In the beginning when Hathab was launched in 2017, there were only the teams which were backed by big sponsors and organisations like Alkass."
"But now, new horse owners are coming ahead with their teams to participate which is adding to the excitement in Hathab. Hathab is the environment for equestrian in Qatar. You cannot do showjumping or dressage in Qatar unless you participate in Hathab,” he said.
“Now equestrian fans have two choices to watch Hathab live - via stream on Youtube and/or on Alkass television live or online. When we have international shows, the broadcast also extends to beIn Sports. Qatar TV also make during and post event presentation. This year we had Al Jazeera too,” he added.
He also expressed his delight on growing international interest in the competition.
“We have been receiving requests from countries in the region for their riders to participate next year in Hathab. So hopefully, Hathab may grow into a big international league in showjumping as we envision.”
"Hathab has been growing season by season and at the end of each season there is an evaluation and look at all the feedback and look at the achievements and challenges as stepping stones to success. We take up the challenges to develop Hathab into a much better show for the next season," he added.
