TOKYO, 24th September, 2026 (WAM) -- The UAE dressage team have completed their preparations ahead of the opening of its team and individual competitions tomorrow at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, with all four horses successfully passing today's veterinary inspection and completing their arena familiarisation session in Tokyo.
Representing the UAE are Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri with Lotus-S, Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal with Zen Liquidity, Bianca Schütz with Le Grand Ayden HB, and Natalie Lankester with Tesla DXB.
The horses arrived in Japan following a ten-day quarantine in Aachen, Germany, and spent the following days acclimatising to their new surroundings. Today's arena familiarisation session 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 45 horse-and-rider combinations expected to compete across the team and individual events. Following the official draw, the UAE will be fifth in the team starting order.
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.
Competition will continue on Saturday with the second Individual Qualifier, with the top 15 combinations progressing to Sunday's Individual Final.
The UAE return to Asian Games dressage competition following its historic debut in Hangzhou in 2023, where the national team finished sixth.