KUWAIT: Hawally Club's British rider Nick Channing won the title of the first round, within the competitions of the fourth edition of the Kuwait Equestrian Federation League, which concluded Saturday at the Kuwait Equestrian Center with the participation of riders representing local equestrian clubs.

In the tenth and final round, the “Grand Prix”, at a height of 140 cm, rider Nick Channing won first place with a time of 34.29 seconds without faults, followed by riders Abdulrahman Al-Fuzai, Yara Al-Hunaidi, Madi Al-Khamis, Abdullah Al-Awadhi and Hamad Al-Hajri.

In the ninth round, “Minor Prize”, at a height of 130 cm, after a round of differentiation, British rider Nick Channing came first, with a time of 34.35 seconds, ahead of riders Abdullah Al Awadhi, Aws Al Tanak, Hamad Al Hajri and Madi Al Khamis.

Nabila Al-Ali, Secretary General of the Kuwait Equestrian Federation, and Sufyan Ahmed Bughmaz, Managing Director of the Equestrian Federation, participated in the crowning of the champions.

On the same level, the Secretary of the Local Equestrian Federation, Nabila Abdullah Al-Ali, confirmed that the first round of the league championship witnessed strong competitions between several male and female riders for the first places, and the novice category witnessed a large and record participation of male and female riders.

The judging committee in the tournament was headed by Nadar Al-Mustafa, and the committee includes Nabila Al-Ali, Lama Abdul-Aal and Yulia Fronko, and the rider Yaqoub Al-Nasrallah designed the track, assisted by Abdullah Al-Muhanna, and Badr Al-Heifi who was a yard referee.

It is noteworthy that Kuwait Equestrian Club rider Ali Jassim Al-Kharafi has won the title of all three local league championships that have been held since the establishment of the first local federation in the history of Kuwaiti equestrianism.

Al-Kharafi did not participate in the first round of the league as he was in Saudi Arabia to participate in the international championship. Coach Ahmed Al-Omran: Equestrianism has grown significantly with the organization of local league championships

National equestrian coach Ahmed Al-Omran confirmed that the establishment of a local federation to manage Kuwaiti equestrianism on January 5, 2021, and the organization of the first local league championship in the history of equestrianism for the 2021-2022 season, and the presence of many equestrian clubs helped develop equestrianism significantly, thanking all those responsible for this honorable achievement in the name of the State of Kuwait, and today we are all watching the fourth edition of the local league with everyone's efforts and great participation from riders at all levels.

He said: “The riders are making great efforts to develop their level and compete for titles, as I trained riders from the age of 5 or 6 years old and there are stars who are referred to in Kuwait, Gulf, Arab and Asian equestrianism, and I notice a love and development of equestrianism in Kuwaiti society in a very large way.”

Rider and trainer Ahmed Al-Omran explained his love for show jumping, as he started working at the Kuwait Equestrian Center since 1996, where the “KRC” is the first equestrian school.

Al-Omran said: “The Kuwait Equestrian Center is my second home, and equestrianism represents everything to me in life, and equestrianism changes a person's personality 180 degrees and that training is the love of the equestrian world.”

It is noteworthy that Captain Ahmed Al-Omran has more than 30 years of experience in the world of equestrianism and training, and participated in the establishment of several centers and schools for horse riding training, specializing in preparing teams and national teams, specializing in training children from 4-14 years old, an expert in training people with special needs, specializing in stable management, and the first hypotherapy therapist in Kuwait (physical therapy on horseback).