“Results used to be decided in advance, always favouring those close to the government,” the 25-year-old rider said.

“My greatest ambition was to reach third place, but today, I can aim for first and do well with my new horse.”

For decades, former president Bashar al-Assad, his relatives and allies enjoyed wide-ranging privileges before his overthrow in a lightning Islamist-led offensive in December.

Equestrian sports surged in the 1990s under Assad’s late brother Bassel, who was being groomed to succeed their father Hafez before dying in a car crash in 1994. Bashar took over and became president in 2000.

Bassel used to take part in tournaments at home and abroad and styled himself as Syria’s “first rider”.

His profile helped shine a spotlight on the sport, which came to symbolise elite status under the Assads.

Abu al-Dahab said those close to the family had European horses, which far outperformed the local ones of other competitors.

“It was impossible to compete with the ruling family,” he said while walking his horse on the sand.

Impossible competition

Outside the Dimas equestrian club near Damascus, a statue of Bassel still stands, his face now hidden by the new Syrian flag.

The family’s grip on the sport passed to the next generation, including Sham, daughter of Bashar’s brother Maher.

Sham used to compete in Syria and at international tournaments, often placing high.

The attention she received in the media stirred controversy, with critics seeing it as propaganda.

That grip on the sport kept some away. Munana Shaker, 26, said her father banned her from competing until the Assads were gone.