Kawai and Armouti dominate day two of Diriyah Equestrian Festival

Equestrians and their horses braved windy conditions in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia as they continued to shine at the Diriyah Equestrian Festival on the second of six-day event on Friday.

Taking the highest honours of the festival so far was Mike Kawai from Japan who claimed the top spot for the FEI Jumping World Cup sponsored by Longines this evening, which served as the main competition on day two of the festival.

Earlier in the day Jordanian Sarah Al Armouti and her mare Winnipeg jumped their way to the top of the podium in the international jumping competition against the clock (1.20m), becoming the first non-Saudi champion and first ever female equestrian champion at an international competition on Saudi soil.

Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki AlFaisal, chairman of the board of directors of the General Sports Authority, presided over the awards ceremony for the main event of the night, handing Japanese jockey Mike Kawai to the highest honor of the evening.

In the morning round of international jumping competition (1.25/1.30m), Salman AlAjamy took first place with a time of 46.44 seconds, making it his second prize of the festival. The evening prior, on the opening night of the festival he won second place in the young equestrian round. Coming in second and third place were Faisal Baskasri and Faisal Abalkhail, respectively. 

The second round of the international jumping competition against the clock (1.20m) witnessed the first non-Saudi and first woman champion of the competition in Jordanian Sarah Al Armouti with a winning time of 63.01 seconds. In second place was Saad AlAjmi and his mare I’m Quite Bright as they jumped their way to a runner up position with a time of 64.76 seconds. Bader Alfard raced his way to a second prize of the competition as he took a third place spot with a time of 65.26 seconds.

As the sun started setting on the al Duhami farms, equestrians took part in the international accumulator jumping competition. Egyptian jockey Mohamed Talaat and his mare Tabea claimed first place with a time of 50.51 seconds, followed by ‘Italian Stallion’ Natale Chiaudani with a time of 51.74 seconds. In third place came Saudi jockey Bander Binmahfouz with a time of 52.44 seconds.

The final and main event of the evening was the FEI Jumping World Cup of international jumping competition over two rounds (1.45m), where points collected by equestrians count for qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and FEI World Cup.

Kawai and his gelding Celvin picked up the top spot with an impressive score of 38.73 seconds while Saudi jockey Waled AlGhamdi came in as runner up with 40.03 seconds. In third place is Egyptian Mohamed Talaat with a time of 40.50 seconds, who picked up his second honor of the evening. Taiwanese Olympic hopeful Jasmine Chen narrowly missed the podium coming in at fourth place.

The Festival is part of the wider Diriyah Season, an epic month of iconic sports events such as Formula E, top-class men’s tennis and a World Heavyweight Title fight - The Clash On The Dunes. Known as the home of kings and heroes, the stunning UNESCO World Heritage site Diriyah will also stage performances from some of the biggest music artists on the planet, including Swedish House Mafia and Calvin Harris.

Meanwhile, a top official with global horse riding’s governing body has admitted to being left “speechless” by the “breathtaking” venue of the Diriyah Equestrian Festival.

International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) judge Valeria Nicoli has been on-site at Al Duhami Farm -- the world-class equestrian arena built into the side of a mountain by Saudi Olympic legend Ramzy Al Duhami and wife Sara Baban -- since last week, helping the facility ready itself for the opening weekend of the competition.

It is the Italian’s first visit to Saudi, ahead of what is the Kingdom’s first ever hosting of an international, FEI-sanctioned event, meaning riders taking part in the Diriyah Equestrian Festival will be competing for qualifying points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

In line with that, the Festival has attracted champions from across the world to compete across the six days of competition.

Big names representing Saudi include Abdullah Al Sharbatly, who won gold at the Asian Games in both 2006 and 2010,  Abdel Rahman Al Rajhi, who competed in the World Cup finals last year, and won a silver medal during the 2014 Asian Games, 2018 winner Khaled Al-Mobty and of course bronze Olympic medalist and DEF host, Ramzy Al Duhami.