DUBAI: The first round of the Tent Pegging Challenge was held at the Dubai Endurance City with top teams vying for top honours.
The Tent Pegging Challenge was organised by the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation (UAEERF) in collaboration with Team Sultan.
Riders from as many as 15 teams from Sahara Stables, Team Sultan, Dubai Police, UAE National Team, Butheeb, Hussaini Awan Club, Waleed Stables, Raja Atif Zahoor Team and Al Ali Stables showcased their skills in the 
competition.
The five top teams in the Dubai leg of the tournament will qualify for the next round in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to the media during the competitions, Raja Usman Wajahat, the owner of Team Sahara, said that they were represented by two teams and eight riders in the event.
He was highly impressed with the organisation of the event and skills and level of the riders on show. “This is a successful event; the organisation is good and the competition is tough with all teams doing well,” he said. “The overall experience is wonderful, with a good gathering and also a good crowd. Riders have also performed well.”
Talking about the Sahara Stables, Raja Usman said that Sahara Stables have been playing and imparting training in the sport for nearly two years. “We train people in tent pegging. If anyone wants to get trained and play this game, we offer our services. We are doing this regularly, with two events each month,” he added.
Raja Usman said tent pegging is gaining popularity with each passing day. “Training is getting better and the riders are improving,” he said.
Team Sultan owner Sultan Bahadur congratulated the UAEERF and everyone connected with the competition for the successful organisation of the tournament.
While introducing his team in the tournament, which included World Cup gold medallist in South Africa Tassawar Abbas, Sultan Bahadur said his team was performing well in Dubai.
He said that in Pakistan tent pegging has mostly been played in desi (traditional) style, using spears for decades.
“It is because of this that our players struggled in the international format, which include swords, lemon cutting, gallows, etc,” he said.
“Equestrian Federation of Pakistan President Sahibzada Sultan Muhammad Ali had a vision to produce international players from Pakistan. In 2019, Sahibzada Sultan Muhammad Ali took the initiative of organising the Sultan International in Pakistan.”
“You can see that the current Pakistan team includes players produced by the Sultan International. It is one of our major successes,” he added.
Sultan Bahadur said that tent pegging was heading forward positively. “Pakistan were runners up in the last World Cup and Insha Allah, Pakistan will win the next World Cup,” he said confidently.
Earlier, speaking to the media about the Tent Pegging Challenge, Naeem of Team Sultan said last year, Team Sultan took the initiative along with the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation to promote the sport of tent pegging.
“Team Sultan and UAEERF have already planned eight tournaments in this regard,” he said. “This is our second event.”
Naeem said that the UAEERF is playing a major role in these tent-pegging activities. “They provide us everything – track and supervision – and we collaborate with them as hosts and sponsors in the organisation of these events,” he said.
