Gulf Times
The prestigious Title Show championship of the Katara International Arabian Horse Festival (KIAHF) kicked off at the Katara Esplanade Wednesday with the participation of 309 finest purebreds from famous horse studs and owners.
The KIAHF 2022 Title Show’s opening day witnessed the presence of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani and a number of personalities along with horse lovers and equestrianism aficionados, the organisers said in a press statement.
The Title Show of KIAHF 2022 is also the 31st Qatar International Horse Show Championship and is "seeing splendid and close competition", the statement notes. The four-day Title Show follows the Arabian Peninsula Horse Show and the Auction of the 11-day KIAHF 2022, all of which carry a total prize of QR17,083,500.
The first day of the four-day Title Show championship saw Rayyanah Al Nasser, D Expo, SK Tia, Shmooa Al Enaya, Bahi Aljassimya and D Tumooh emerge as top podium finishers in the Yearling Fillies (Class 1A), Yearling Fillies (Class 1B), Fillies 2 Years Old (Class 2A), Fillies 2 Years Old (Class 2B), Yearling Colts (Class 4A) and Yearling Colts (Class 4B) categories, respectively.
Sheikh Nawaf bin Nasser al-Thani, owner of Al Nasser Stud, stressed that KIAHF is one of the best horse festivals in the world and confirms the keenness of the wise leadership in the country to support equestrian sports. He added that the quality of horses participating in the 31st Qatar International Championship for purebred Arabian horses is among the finest.
He said Al Nasser Stud is participating with seven of its horses and expects to achieve wins in the final competitions, especially after Rayyanah Al Nasser qualified in the Yearling Fillies (Class 1A) category.
The top three winning horses from each category qualify for the Title Show championship finals of KIAHF 2022, scheduled for Saturday (February 12). The Title Show has a total prize of QR13,990,000 besides in-kind prizes, including cars.
Thursday, the Title Show continues with the Colts 2 and 3 Years Old, Fillies 3 Years Old and Mares 4-6 Years Old categories.
The Title Show championship is the focus of attention for horse owners and breeders in Qatar and from overseas, as it is subject to high and world-class arbitration standards and globally recognised rules from Ecaho - European Conference of Arab Horse Organisations.
The Title Show has highly experienced and qualified arbitrators with an 11-member jury judging each contest.
The KIAHF organising committee has announced financial prizes for the first six best-placed winners in each category in the Title Show qualifying. The first to sixth-placed horses win amounts starting from QR55,000, QR86,000 and QR100,000 in each of the qualifying classes in various categories.
The championship finals will see the winner of the gold medal receive QR250,000, QR150,000, QR100,000 and QR800,000 respectively. Similarly, the silver and bronze medal winners, and subsequent winners, will also be rewarded handsomely in each of the categories, the statement adds.