The Police Sports Federation leaped high to win the Equestrian National Championship, reports Ghada Abdel-Kader An equestrian event won by the Police Sports Federation (PSF) has been described as overwhelming. Sameh El-Dahan, of the PSF, won the tournament as did his club. The main barriers were divided into four levels. In Class A, the 150cm height is the highest at the international level. In Class B, the local standard height is 140cm. Class C hurdles are 130cm and Class D 120cm. In Classes A and B, El-Dahan won first place. In Class C, he took second place and in Class D fourth. On the international level in Class A, the police team won first place. Nine associations and equestrian training centres participated. There were 178 riders. Ehab Abdel-Aziz, technical consultant at PSF since 2006, said the victory was overwhelming. "A rider should have desire, determination and the ability to challenge. He develops his talent with continuous training. The rider also has to be brave, bold, and have the ability to deal with any horse," Abdel-Aziz added "This year, our team reached the finals and our riders the top position. This is something which hasn't happened before," Asharf Zayed, the equestrian coach at PSF, said. El-Dahan started riding at age five in a farm. "Then, I joined PSF. My older brother Mohamed made me love equestrianship. He was a rider, too, but stopped because he couldn't study and train at the same time. "I am trying to adapt to the two," added El-Dahan, 23, a university student in the last year of medicine at Ain Shams University who trains every day for four or five hours. "A rider and a doctor have the same characteristics -- faithful, kind hearted and honest," he added. El-Dahan twice won the Arab League Championship in Egypt. In March, he took 7th place in the Seif Al-Sham equestrian championship, the second most important title after the Arab League. The two act as qualifiers for the World Cup. "The Police Sports Federation is my home," Abdel-Aziz said. "It was a great honour when Hamada Hemida, the president of the federation and Mahmoud Salah, the general equestrian supervisor, asked me to join them. I didn't hesitate. In the first year, I made some changes and bought new horses. The results weren't bad but we didn't collect points. In the second year, we avoided switching the horses among other PSF riders in mid-season so that a horse and his rider can get better accustomed to one another." Abdel-Aziz was a former international rider and international referee in jump barriers and endurance races. He was a former coach of Qatar's national team from 1992 to 2003. He discovered seven junior riders, including Ali Youssef Al-Rumahi who won the Master Championship for Equestrianship, considered the biggest championship for horseback riding in Asia. "We have good riders, including Alaa Maysara and Mohamed Serag," Zayed confirmed. Abdel-Aziz was selected this year as best coach in the Egyptian Equestrian Federation due to his long experience. Zayed was also chosen best coach in PSF. Sameh Nessim, administrator of the team, said, "We cooperate and worked together as one team." "Interior Minister Habib El-Adli pays special attention to equestrian sports," Mohamed Salah, vice-president of PSF, said. "We established a specialised centre on 50 acres. It has playgrounds, a veterinary hospital, stables, an administrative building and vans to transport horses." PSF is currently preparing for the International Arab Championship in September in Cairo Stadium. The Arab League event is in November. "Our target is to win high-ranking positions," El-Dahan added Salah added, "This achievement is a new start that puts the federation in its rightful position."
