The Man In The Middle Of It All

Where Prevention, Welfare, And Authority Quietly Converge

A rider clears the final fence, the crowd rises, and the clock stops on what looks, from the grandstand, like a perfect round. Then, in the corridor between the arena and the collecting ring, a steward reaches out a hand — first to offer a word of congratulations, and then, quietly, to check. It is a small gesture that captures the entire philosophy behind the role: prevention and welfare come first, not policing. What follows in those seconds matters far more for the horse than for the record books. It is a moment almost nobody in the stands ever sees.

For Ali Mohajer, that moment is not the exception. It is the entire point. The FEI steward and course designer, who started his career in his home country before establishing himself as one of the UAE's most senior officials, has spent decades standing precisely where the sport is most uncomfortable with itself — between ambition and regulation, between competitive pressure and animal welfare. Operating out of Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club, where he serves as Riding School Manager as well as Chief Steward and course designer for the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, the official inhabits a peculiarly complete view of show jumping from the child taking a first lesson to the Olympic-level competitor entering the ring at a CSI5*. He has worked at around over 300 CSI events in various positions from 2002 to the present, including three Olympic Games (London, Tokyo, and Paris), three FEI World Equestrian Games, one Asian Games, and two Asian Championships.

Always There, Before Anything Goes Wrong

The warm-up ring is, in many ways, a more revealing place than the main arena. Horses are fresh or fractious, riders are nervous or overconfident, and the gap between preparation and performance is at its narrowest. It is also where most problems either start or stop.
"The main job of stewarding is prevention," he says. "That is why we are always present and in the middle of the warm-up area. It is also the reason we carry out all the pre-competition tack checks, to make sure that no incorrect equipment is being used on the horses."

The role is, by design, largely invisible. A steward whose intervention is never required has, in theory, done the job perfectly. Mohajer is candid about how that works in practice. "Sometimes, simply being visible in the warm-up area helps prevent riders from being too tough on their horses. In most cases, it is not because riders intend to do something wrong, but because of the stress and pressure of competition. Sometimes even eye contact or a friendly approach to a rider is enough to make them stop, take a breath, and refocus."

The preparation begins long before the first horse enters the ring. At major events, night stewards monitor the stables through the hours of darkness. "The first thing in the morning," the official explains, "is getting their report and collecting the night sheets, which show who was in the stables during the night. Then we do a tour of the stables, and after that we prepare the warm-up area and check the warm-up obstacles." Prevention, he adds, extends beyond horse welfare. "An experienced steward can often identify a potential problem with equipment, the warm-up area, or the flow of the horses before it develops into an accident."

The Fine Line Officials Must Hold

There is a moment every senior steward eventually faces — the rider coming out of the arena having just delivered a performance that may define a career. The official must weigh what they have seen against what the rules require, and act regardless. "Imagine a rider who has just gone clear and is about to win a one-million-euro Grand Prix," the Chief Steward says. "When they come out of the arena, we find a small spur mark that could result in a disqualification or an official warning that stays on their record. As a steward or chief steward, you need to be prepared and trained to deal with situations like that, stay calm, and do your job professionally."

Behind that composure lies a harder question. Where does rigorous preparation end and welfare compromise begin? "We need enough experience as stewards to recognise where that line is," the official says. "As horse people, we know that horses are athletes by nature, so training them hard, if done gradually and correctly, does not necessarily harm them. At the same time, if someone uses any unnatural aid or technique to force the horse to do something, or does something that could negatively affect the horse's welfare or performance, then we must step in."

His record in applying that principle is not merely theoretical. A Court of Arbitration for Sport case involving a serious welfare incident at a jumping event placed the official's warm-up vigilance on the formal record, with his testimony contributing to an FEI sanction that was later upheld at CAS. "In one sentence," the official summarises, "our job as stewards is to help organisers run a fair event with minimum pressure on the horses while presenting our sport in the best possible way."

Two Roles, One Coherent Vision

The combination of FEI Steward and international course designer is, by the official's own acknowledgement, an unusual one. Yet he finds the disciplines more complementary than contradictory. "As a course designer, my responsibility is also to create fair courses for the horses while still keeping them challenging. So, yes, they are two different jobs, but the concepts behind them are very similar. It is always valuable to understand show jumping from different angles, and that definitely helps me. On top of that, when I supervise the warm-up area and its obstacles, my course design experience gives me a better understanding of how everything works together."

The course design career came first. Mohajer qualified as an international course designer in 2001, several years before obtaining a stewarding licence, and began travelling internationally as part of course design teams from 2002. "The main concept of designing an international-level course is more or less the same anywhere in the world," he notes. "At the same time, it is always exciting to go to a new venue, work with new people, and adapt to different materials and conditions. That challenge is one of the things I enjoy most about course designing."

What Eighteen Years Of Growth Looks Like

When the official arrived in the UAE in 2006, the national show jumping calendar was a manageable affair. "When I first moved to the UAE, there were far fewer horses and riders at show jumping events. At national shows, the whole event would last only four to five hours, with around 100 horses competing in three to four classes. These days, we can have a single class lasting four hours with more than 100 entries, and an event may run for around 15 hours in one day. When I moved here in 2006, we had only two to three international events (CSI). In recent years, we have had 14 to 15 international events in a row, which is an impressive number compared to almost anywhere in the world."

The UAE now hosts events of genuine global stature — the HH The President Cup, the League of Nations opener in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Ruler Cup — drawing Olympic-level fields. That growth, in the official's view, has produced a relationship of mutual benefit. "It is really a win-win situation for both the organisers and the officials who run the events. Here, we truly work as a strong team, and that is one of our biggest advantages. It creates confidence among riders from around the world and encourages them to come and compete in the UAE."

From The First Lesson To The In-Gate

There is a particular advantage available to someone who manages a riding school and stands at the in-gate of a CSI5* within the same season. "I have seen some of our young riders from the moment they competed in their first competitions all the way to reaching Olympic level," he says. "Many times, these riders have told me that they feel comfortable and relaxed when they see familiar faces at top-level events, including the Olympics, and how much that helps them. That is always nice to hear."

The emergence of a new generation of Emirati riders competing internationally is not something the official regards without measured caution alongside his admiration. "We have some very talented young riders here. Thanks to good planning, hard work, top horses, excellent facilities, and high-level competitions, they can progress very quickly. At the same time, there is always a risk when riders reach the highest level very quickly, as maintaining motivation can become more difficult. They still need to gain experience by competing around the world and continuing to learn."

To those considering the officiating pathway, his counsel is direct. "Make sure you genuinely love what you do and do not look at it as just a job. Do not work to become important; focus on doing your best. Working as a steward is very demanding because the hours are long and you work in all kinds of weather. If you do not truly enjoy it, it is very difficult to continue for the long term."

After everything — the years at the warm-up fence, the tack inspections before dawn, the difficult conversations after competition — what remains is a simple conviction. "I love being around horses, and I enjoy being part of top-level events, so I am still very motivated. Horses are the most important part of our sport, and we need to look after them with care and respect."

In an era when equestrian sport faces increasing scrutiny over animal welfare, the argument for the invisible official — the one who stops the problem before it becomes a scandal — has never been more necessary. What happens in the warm-up ring does not always make for dramatic viewing. But it makes for honest sport.