All four horses’ complete arena familiarisation ahead of tomorrow’s opening competition at JRA Equestrian Park
Tokyo, Japan – 24 September 2026
The UAE dressage team has successfully completed its final preparations ahead of the opening day of equestrian competition at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, with all four horses passing today’s veterinary inspection and completing their arena familiarisation session at JRA Equestrian Park in Tokyo.
Representing the UAE are Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri with Lotus-S, Bianca Schütz with Le Grand Ayden HB, Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal with Zen Liquidity and Natalie Lankester with Tesla DXB. The four combinations will compete in both the team and individual competitions at Small Tour level, which begin tomorrow, Friday 25 September.
L-R: Bianca Schütz, Natalie Lankester, Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri and Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal © Alexander Cotodian Photogrpahy
The horses arrived in Japan following a ten-day pre-export quarantine in Aachen, Germany, and have spent the intervening days acclimatising to their new surroundings. Today’s arena familiarisation provided the riders with an opportunity to work their horses in the main competition arena ahead of the opening tests.
The UAE will be among nine nations contesting the team competition, with a total of 45 horse-and-rider combinations expected to compete across the team and individual events. Joining the UAE will be defending Asian Games dressage team gold medallists India, host nation Japan, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the Republic of Korea. Individual athletes will also represent several other nations, including the neighbouring Gulf countries of Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Tomorrow’s competition will combine the Team Final with the first Individual Qualifier, with riders competing at either Small Tour or Big Tour level. The Small Tour combinations will perform the FEI Prix St-Georges test, while Big Tour combinations will contest the FEI Grand Prix. The team classification will be determined by the combined scores of each nation’s three highest-scoring combinations, with the team medals awarded at the conclusion of the day’s competition.
The international Ground Jury will be presided over by Denmark’s Hans-Christian Matthiesen, alongside Sunil Shivdas of India, Vic Barba of the Philippines, Ricky MacMillan of Australia and Helen Hughes-Keen of New Zealand. Portugal’s Carlos Lopes will serve as Foreign Technical Delegate.
Following this evening’s official draw, the UAE will be fifth to go in the team starting order, with its riders scheduled to compete at the following times (Japan Standard Time):
- 10:18Natalie Lankester and Tesla DXB
- 11:53 Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal and Zen Liquidity
- 13:20Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri and Lotus-S
- 15:27Bianca Schütz and Le Grand Ayden HB
Competition begins at 09:30 JST (04:30 UAE time), with the Team Victory Ceremony scheduled to follow the conclusion of competition.
The Asian Games dressage competition continues on Saturday 26 September with the second Individual Qualifier, featuring the FEI Intermediate I and Grand Prix Special tests. The top 15 combinations will progress to Sunday’s Individual Final, where the Intermediate I Freestyle and Grand Prix Freestyle will determine the individual medallists.
The UAE returns to Asian Games dressage following its historic debut in Hangzhou in 2023, where the national team finished sixth. The riders arrive in Japan following an extensive international qualification campaign, with competition experience gained across Europe and the UAE in preparation for the championship.
