Endurance

de presentatie van de uithoudingsproef in de woestijn.

een foto vanuit het 'publiek' van JJ.

• 200 riders from 40 countries will participate in the 120km endurance event

• Five local riders will take part, with over 40 AlUla residents also participating in stewarding and vet assistance thanks to a stringent development programme ahead of this year’s event

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup 2023; the 120km event hosted by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) in partnership with the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation (SAEF) and Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) was on at March 4th.

Ahead of the event, the RCU hosted a special press conference which was attended by Ziad AlSuhaibani, Head of Sports Sector Executive Program at Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), Phillip Jones, Chief Tourism Officer RCU, Dr. Anas Hassan, Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation, Brian Colin Dunn, Event Director, FEI, and Gérard Mestrallet, Executive Chairman AFALULA.

The sunrise marked the start of the riders’ eight-hour journey, 

Riders set off at 7 a.m. against a stunning backdrop of AlUla’s mountainous desert, with the winner crossing the finish just after 3 p.m.

More than 200 horses started off the race, but after hours of rigorous riding, only 65 ended up crossing the finish line.

The others were disqualified due to failing veterinary tests carried out after each of the four sections of the track.

The second loop proved perhaps the most challenging, after which almost 70 riders were eliminated.

AlUla is arguably the crown jewel of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious tourism strategy, part of which involves bolstering equestrian sport in the ancient city.

Part of this year’s Endurance Cup involved training five AlUla locals to ride and compete in the grueling event.

Around 40 event staff working in stewarding and vet assistance roles were also chosen from the local community.

Prince Abdullah bin Fahd bin Abdullah, chairman of the Saudi Equestrian Federation, explained to Al Arabiya English that there are “big things” coming for the future of equestrian sport in AlUla.

“I can assure you that you'll be seeing more equestrian competitions with different disciplines here in AlUla soon to come,” he said.