Sameh El Dahan, 41, who for the last five has represented Great Britain, has opted to switch back to riding for his native Egypt. El Dahan, who has been based with Sycamore Stables in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, for the past fifteen years, opted to change his nationality to British in 2021, alongside Abdel Saïd, who switched to representing Belgium at the same time. 

Now El Dahan, who in 2018 won the CP International presented by Rolex at Spruce Meadows with Suma’s Zorro, feels it is time to return to support Team Egypt.

“After around 5 years of riding for team GB, today I return back to represent my home country of Egypt,” El Dahan shared on social media as he thanked the British Equestrian Federation, his British teammates and the British chef d’equipe Di Lampard for their support. “Having seen the efforts the new administration of the Egyptian federation have been putting in place for the last few years, I feel now is the time to return and to do my part to help my team to return to the top of the international stage once again.

I was honored to carry the British flag for that stage of my career, and whilst it was a brief period, I’d like to think that it was a great one and I made all of u proud, especially my final bow for team GB being a winning one taking the 2* Grand Prix in Mullingar. I have so many precious memories of this time which I will keep forever in my heart, and how much I was welcomed in my time of need by such a great country. In saying that I’m also excited to see what’s next for us as a team and returning to ride and compete for Egypt is a feeling I have missed.”