RIYADH, 12 March 2008 — Kingdom Team sponsored by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal won the Qatar International Show Jumping Championship Cup on Monday in Doha, Qatar.
Saudi rider Ramzi Al-Duhami finished first place during the last round of the championship to secure the cup for the Kingdom Team. Al-Duhami dedicated this international achievement to Prince Alwaleed in appreciation of his continuous support to the Team and its members.
Veteran Khalid Al-Eid, also a Kingdom Team member, placed first in the opening round of the championship and second in the third round of the next day. Al-Duhami then claimed third place in the final round qualifying him for the finals in which he earned the Team the championship cup.
The event was the 10th round of the Arab Equestrian League which now moves to Syria for the final two rounds.
Al-Duhami ended the last round with no penalty faults in 51.25 seconds, with second-placed Abdullah Al-Marri of UAE coming in 51.56 seconds with also no penalties. Third place went to Diya Basheir of Egypt (one penalty, 58.31 seconds), fourth Ahmed Al-Junaibi of UAE (4 penalties, 51.06 seconds), fifth Abdullah Hameed of UAE (4 penalties, 53.86 seconds), sixth Ahmed Ameen of UAE (4 penalties, 47.07 seconds), and seventh Fahad Al-Eid of Saudi Arabia (4 penalties, 55.59 seconds).
“I did not expect this victory and was preparing my horse for the next year but during this event after this victory he provided me with a good feeling and now I have the Syrian rounds to look forward to,” said Al-Duhami.
Syrian Fadi Al-Zabibi, who leads the 12-round championship series, said the competition was weird and the results were beyond expectations especially that most of the best riders did not reach the second round of the grand prize event.
Al-Eid said nothing was strange in this competition. “Some horses were supposed to achieve something during the four days but did not, and during the grand prize they did. My horse Al-Riyad was not in his good shape but I’ll prepare him for the Syrians rounds,” he said.
Nouf Al-Eissa, a female rider from Kuwait, said it was a surprise that the Syrian team was ruled out from the grand prize event. “I believe I am following the right direction and aim at winning Al-Wafa International Tournament for Basil,” he said.
Najeeb Al Barjes, Kingdom Team manager and trainer, said that he was proud of Al-Duhami’s performance adding the success of the jockey and Kingdom equestrian team was due to Alwaleed’s support that has spurred the team to further successes.
Alwaleed believes in the importance of equestrian sport and welcomes promising riders to join Kingdom team. The members of the Kingdom Team also include female riders Sarah Baban, Alia Alhwaete, Noora Al Yusuf and Laatifa Al-Sheikh as well as Abdulrahman Alhawas and Mohamed Almilhisi.
Last month, Al-Duhami won first place in the King of Bahrain Show Jumping Championship and qualified for the world championship finals. In January, Al-Duhami achieved second place in the opening round and third place for the smaller award during the International Abu Dhabi Championship that qualified him for the equestrian World Cup.
In January 2007, Kingdom Equestrian Team won the 2007 Bahrain Endurance Championship. The team had won 1st, 3rd and 4th during the race organized by The Equestrian Royal Federation for Endurance Races, under the patronage of Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa. Among other achievements, the Kingdom equestrian team won the first Crown Prince Endurance Cup in Saudi Arabia in February 2007, in addition to their victories in the King Abdullah Endurance Cup and the King Abdul Aziz Endurance Cup in March and April 2007 respectively and the Saudi Federation Cup in November 2006.
