TOKYO, 4th October, 2026 (WAM) — Emirates Jumping concluded its campaign at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a second silver medal on Sunday, as Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi and Hudson de Vains claimed Individual silver following a dramatic three-way jump-off at JRA Equestrian Park.
The result adds to Emirates Jumping’s Team silver medal secured on Thursday, capping a successful Championship campaign in which all four combinations progressed to their respective Individual Finals.
Humaid Abdulla Khalifa Al Muhairi and Mentos narrowly missed out on a medal in fourth place in Competition A, while Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi and Enjoy de la Mure finished sixth and Sheikha Latifah Bint Ahmed Al Maktoum and Cornet XL seventh in the newly introduced 1.55m Competition B.
Having both qualified with clear rounds in Saturday’s opening competition, Abdullah and Humaid were among 20 combinations to progress to Sunday’s Competition A Final, where the fences were raised to 1.50m.
Sixteenth in the starting order, Abdullah delivered an outstanding clear round aboard nine-year-old Hudson de Vains, securing his place in what would eventually become a three-way jump-off for the medals against Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Humaid, who entered the arena eighteenth, was unfortunate to lower the middle element of the triple combination with Mentos. The four faults ended his medal hopes, leaving him fourth overall following an exceptional week of competition.
The battle for the medals produced a dramatic conclusion, with Qatar’s Faleh Alajmi first to tackle the jump-off. A fence down in 40.88 seconds left the door open for Abdullah, who entered the arena intending to deliver a clear round and put himself in contention for gold.
However, the excitement of the occasion prompted the Emirati rider to increase the pace, resulting in an unfortunate fault at a challenging oxer. He crossed the finish line in 41.93 seconds, leaving the gold medal within reach of Saudi Arabia’s Khaled Almobty, the final rider to jump.
Almobty, known for his speed, made a promising start but lowered the final fence while chasing the clock. His mistake confirmed Abdullah as the silver medallist, with Qatar taking gold and Saudi Arabia bronze.
Reflecting on his performance, Abdullah expressed pride in his young horse and the progress they have made throughout the season.
“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.
“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. He’s stepping up and showing the quality, scope and temperament for the job. I’m sure we will go far together.”
Asked whether he had followed his original jump-off strategy, Abdullah admitted that his competitive instincts had taken over.
“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. I’m normally a fast rider and perhaps it wasn’t very smart of me. But if I’d gone slower and still had a fence down, I would have finished with bronze. It’s always complicated. If it’s your day, it’s your day.”
For Humaid, fourth place represented an encouraging result with another promising nine-year-old horse making his Championship debut.
“It was unlucky to have the middle fence of the triple combination down. Mentos was a little tired. It’s the first Championship for this nine-year-old horse and he jumped three clear rounds this week. He’s going to keep getting better and we have a good future ahead.”
In the higher-level Competition B, Emirates Jumping’s Omar and Sheikha Latifah returned to the arena for Sunday’s decisive second round, contested over a demanding 1.55m course featuring 15 jumping efforts.
Omar, seventh in the starting order and carrying four faults from Saturday, produced an excellent clear round aboard Enjoy de la Mure, comfortably inside the time allowed, to finish sixth overall.
The performance marked a strong conclusion to another major Championship for the partnership, which finished 13th individually at the FEI Jumping World Championship in Aachen earlier this summer.
“The week started off really well. As a team, we’ve taken silver at the Asian Games and Abdullah won another individual silver today in Competition A,” said Omar.
“Enjoy has been jumping really well. I think yesterday he deserved better from me, but then he jumped out of his skin today. I’m pretty happy with how he’s been jumping the whole week. I’d like to apologise to him! Enjoy means everything to me. He always tries his best and he’s a horse of a lifetime.”
Sheikha Latifah entered Sunday’s Final on zero faults following an impressive clear round with Cornet XL on Saturday. Despite another committed performance, two fences down in the decisive round left the combination seventh overall.
“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. He jumped two fences badly and we had them down. Luck wasn’t on our side, but I’m still very proud of him.
“We came here with bigger intentions. Unfortunately, this is the sport. We go home to the UAE with two silver medals, so at least that makes us feel a little bit better. But I think both Omar and I were expecting and hoping for better.”
The Individual Finals brought the curtain down on an impressive week for Emirates Jumping, which leaves Tokyo with two silver medals and all four combinations finishing among the top ten in their respective Individual competitions.
Source: Emirates News Agency