Ramzy Al-Duhami

One of six children, Ramzy Al Duhami was born in Riyadh in 1972. There were always horses on his family’s farm, but his passion in the sport truly began when he first jumped with his father’s Arab stallion. The farm eventually became a stable, but Ramzy’s path was set. A year after his first ride, he began competing in local shows, and a year after that his father sent him to England to train seriously. At 14, he competed in his first international show – Dubai 1986 – and while still only 17 was chosen to train with the legendary coach, Bernie Traurig, in America, as were Kalid Al Eid, Kamal Bahamdan and Ziyad Abduljawad.

His pursuit of excellence continued in training with other such notables as Paul Schockemöhle, Nelson Pessoa and latterly with Stanny Van Paesschen, Saudi Equestrian’s team coach and himself an Olympic medalist.

A string of international successes followed: a gold medal at the Asian Equestrian Games in 1991, 3 gold medals the same year at the Pan Arab Games. In 1992 he was also the Amateur World Cup winner in California and was named Asian Athlete of the Year. In 1996, at the Atlanta Olympic Games, he made the individual show jumping finals.

At the Asian Games in Guangshou, China in November 2010, the Saudi team dominated the jumping competition. With Khaled Al Eid, HRH Prince Abdullah bin Miteb Al Saud and Abdullah Al Sharbatly, Ramzy took the team gold medal, and went on to win the individual gold medal with his horse Bayard V Devilla T, after a thrilling 3-way jump-off, leaving him “happy, excited and honoured to win”. In 2011 he won the Grand Prix and Mannheim, the only man out of 40 riders to complete a clear round.

London 2012 will mark the fifth time Ramzy has competed in the Olympics, by which time he will be 40 years old – a veteran in terms of experience, but in the prime of life and at peak fitness.

Ramzy’s right hand in all his endeavours is his wife, Sara, who helps manage his horses at home and at their training base in the Netherlands. Sara is also instrumental in helping with the rest of the team and making sure all the equipment is in order and meets the design criteria.

One of the core members of Saudi Equestrian, and something of a father figure, Ramzy is devoted to developing the talents of the younger members of the team and in bringing on the horses. He says, “I enjoy it and I feel I can learn from my students as well as them learning from my experiences. In the future I would also like to be part of organising show jumping events to develop further the skills of our riders and the levels of our events.”

Like all successful athletes, Ramzy is not one to shy away from a challenge, and in equestrian sport the challenges are multiplied by the need not only to have the best possible horses, but for one’s mount to be equally prepared and its peak at the right time. The joy that comes from building a relationship with a younger horse and bringing him on to Grand Prix status is one that Ramzy relishes. “This is what makes all the challenges and obstacles well worth the effort.”

There is no doubt that he is a huge inspiration to his team members and a fine ambassador for his country.