Bahrain's Alhashemi Wins 120km AlUla Endurance Cup 2023

Bahrain's Mohamed Alhashemi, riding Leon, won the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup 2023 in AlUla in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, March 4th, 2023.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Endurance Lifestyle (@endurancelifest)

The 11-year-old horse crossed the finish line just after 3 p.m. after hours of rigorous riding.

The race was "very hard," Alhashemi told Al Arabiya English at the podium. "The weather was hot, and the track was a little bit bad, but in the end we did what we came for."

Spanish Alvarez Ponton Maria riding Bolchoi El Akim came in second place, followed by Spanish Blanco Rodrigo Omar riding JM El Sobrino in third place.

Endurance is a long-distance race against the clock testing the speed and durability of a horse and challenging riders over their effective use of pace, thorough knowledge of their horse's capabilities, and ability to navigate different types of terrain. 

The course is comprised of 120 km of natural tracks within the magnificent landscape of AlUla and was divided into four loops that vary in distance with the first being the longest at 38.2km in length and the last being the shortest at 22.4km.

Over 200 male and female riders from over 40 countries started off the race at 7 a.m., but only 65 ended up crossing the finish line.

The rest were eliminated due to failing veterinary tests carried out after each loop. 

Image source: @endurancelifest Instagram account.