Riyadh — The second edition of the Saudi Arabian Horses Festival will begin on Jan. 10. With the slogan of “Ubayyah in Diriyah,” the festival will be held under the patronage of Riyadh Emir Prince Faisal Bin Bandar at the International Equestrian Resort.
The 8-day festival will see many sports, cultural and entertainment events. The Ubayyah festival is named after the mare of King Abdul Aziz, founder of modern Saudi Arabia.
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Prince Salman Bin Faisal, chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee of the festival; lauded the role of the Equestrian Authority headed by Prince Bandar Bin Khaled Al-Faisal; and the Saudi Equestrian Federation headed by Prince Abdullah Bin Fahd Bin Abdullah.
Prince Salman praised the outstanding efforts of the King Abdulaziz Center for Arabian Horses; for purebred Arabian horses, along with their owners and equestrian sports. In addition, he noted some of the festival’s activities, which targeted various segments of the Saudi society, will be held for the first time in the Kingdom with the support of the Ministry of Culture.
The highlight of the festival is the International Championship for Purebred Saudi Arabian Horses Festival; category B on the third day of the festival. As many as 350 purebred Arabian breed horses from different countries will participate in the event, with prizes in excess of SR2 million.
The “Pride of Diriyah” auction will start at 6:00 pm on day one; with 40 purebred Arabian horses of rare breeds and a portion of the auction profits donated to charities.
There will be a living museum for purebred Arabian horses, whose breeds date back to the era of the imams. It would be an opportunity for visitors and participants to watch the most important and famous horse breeds of Imam Faisal Bin Turki and King Abdul Aziz and hear the stories that speak of Ubayyah, the mare of King Abdul Aziz.
