The UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation will compete at the 20th Asian Games in Japan later this month, with four athletes and their horses vying for both team and individual honours.
Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri, Bianca Schütz, Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal and Natalie Lankester will fly the UAE flag at JRA Equestrian Park in Tokyo, where the dressage competition will take place from 25 to 27 September.
The UAE returns to Asian Games dressage following a historic debut in Hangzhou in 2023, where the nation fielded a team in the discipline for the first time and finished sixth. Three years later, the team heads to Japan following an extensive international qualification campaign, with all four combinations having competed across Europe and the UAE in preparation for the Games.
Representing the UAE at the 2026 Asian Games will be:
- Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri and Lotus-S
- Bianca Schütz and Le Grand Ayden HB
- Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal and Zen Liquidity
- Natalie Lankester and Tesla DXB
The UAE dressage horses arrived in Aachen, Germany, on 4 September to begin their pre-export quarantine ahead of their journey to Japan. They are scheduled to arrive Tokyo on 15 September, giving the horses time to recover from the journey and settle into their surroundings before competition begins.
THE UAE TEAM
Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri and Lotus-S
A vastly experienced international equestrian athlete across multiple disciplines, Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri returns for his second Asian Games dressage appearance after representing the UAE aboard Ecencka in Hangzhou, where the combination contributed to the team’s sixth-place finish.
Al Jahouri began competing internationally with Lotus-S in October 2025. The 10-year-old KWPN gelding, by Grand Galaxy Win out of a Juventus mare, has since gained extensive international Small Tour experience across Europe.
Bianca Schütz and Le Grand Ayden HB
Bianca Schütz also returns for her second Asian Games, having represented the UAE with Fearless WS in Hangzhou in 2023. Her partnership with Le Grand Ayden HB began internationally in October 2025 and the pair have since established themselves as consistent performers on the international Small Tour circuit.
Schütz and the 10-year-old KWPN stallion enjoyed a particularly strong performance at CDI1* Kronberg in June, winning the Intermediate I Freestyle with 72.340%. The pair have recorded a number of top-ten international finishes during their Asian Games campaign, while Schütz currently sits 33rd on the FEI CDI1*/CDIO1* Dressage World Ranking.
Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal and Zen Liquidity
Mohamed Jassim Al Serkal returns to the Asian Games following his UAE team debut with Hermes V at Hangzhou 2023. He has partnered Zen Liquidity internationally since the beginning of 2026, with the pair quickly establishing a successful partnership during the Asian Games qualification period.
A highlight of their campaign came on home soil in February when Al Serkal and Zen Liquidity won the CDI1* Small Tour in Abu Dhabi, finishing as overall champions of the division while securing another important qualifying result towards the Asian Games.
Natalie Lankester and Tesla DXB
Natalie Lankester achieved the UAE’s best individual dressage result at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, finishing 12th individually and becoming the first UAE dressage rider to qualify for an Asian Games individual Freestyle final.
For Japan, Lankester partners Tesla DXB, a 2015 KWPN stallion by Vitalis out of a Johnson mare. Despite being a relatively new combination, having begun their partnership in April 2026, the pair have quickly demonstrated their potential together. Lankester and Tesla DXB successfully achieved the Minimum Eligibility Requirements during their European campaign and head to Japan as an exciting new partnership ready to make their championship debut together.
THE COMPETITION
The dressage competition begins on Friday, 25 September, with the Prix St-Georges test serving as the Team Final and first Individual Qualifier taking place from 09:30 to 17:20 local time, followed by the Team Victory Ceremony.
Competition continues on Saturday, 26 September, with the second Individual Qualifier from 09:30 to 16:50, before the top 15 combinations progress to the Individual Final on Sunday, 27 September, which runs from 09:30 to 12:30 and concludes with the Individual Victory Ceremony.
The 20th Asian Games will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October, bringing together more than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries. The UAE will field a delegation of 165 athletes across 23 sports, including dressage and show jumping, as part of one of the country’s largest multi-sport international campaigns.
