Under the expert guidance of British trainer Ian Kerr, who has been based in the Middle East for 13 years, the team of eight young riders, aged from 14 to 19, arrived at Wellington Riding last week for their six-week stay and have already picked up prizes at the Towerlands Equestrian Centre in Essex.

The aim is to gain further experience in their bid to qualify riders from Qatar for the London 2012 Olympics.

"I knew of Wellington Riding and thought it would be a good place to be based," explained Ian Kerr. "It has tremendous facilities and a great name. There is only one show jumping venue in Qatar and so it is a great experience for our young riders to compete at different shows and ride in a variety of arenas."

Although the riders are competing on borrowed horses during their stay, Ian Kerr hopes to buy six or seven horses to take back to Qatar and compete in the increasingly competitive Arab League.

The Qatar Equestrian Federation was started in 1979, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani, and joined the International Equestrian Federation in 1980.

"The Qatar Equestrian Federation encourages young men from all backgrounds to take up riding and so anyone who shows an interest is given an opportunity," said Ian Kerr.

Qatar is an emerging nation in the equestrian world and now hosts an event on the Global Champions Tour that attracts leading riders from around the world and the Qatar International Show Jumping Championship, which includes an FEI World Cup TM Qualifier.

The capital city of Doha also played host to the Asian Games in 2006 when, in addition to winning team gold in the eventing competition, Qatar won its first Asian Games gold medal in show jumping when Ali Yousuf Ahmad Al Rumaihi and Nagano won the individual event. Twenty-five year old Rumaihi has been training with World champion Jos Lansink in Belgium and is one of the brightest prospects for Qatar to be represented in the Olympic show jumping competition in London in 2012.