The International Equestrian Federation announced yesterday that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has won the bid to host the 2026 World Endurance Championship. The Kingdom’s approval today came after the victory of its submitted bid.
It is noteworthy that the Kingdom submitted the hosting bid last September, with the Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate hosting the event, under the supervision of the Saudi Equestrian Federation. The Saudi Arabia file was welcomed by the International Equestrian Federation and members of the General Assembly. The Kingdom’s hosting of the World Endurance Championship comes as an extension of the successes achieved by Saudi equestrianism in hosting major events, as next December the Kingdom will host the World Cup for Horseback Shooting in Al-Ula Governorate, and next April 2024 it will host the World Cup for Show Jumping and Dressage in Riyadh. AlUla’s hosting of the Endurance World Cup reflects the spirit of equestrianism and heritage and reinforces the close ties between the rich Arab heritage and the advanced present that the Kingdom seeks. Through this announcement, the FEI affirmed its commitment to developing equestrian sports enhancing its deep passion for it, and stressed the importance of the historical roots of this sport.
AlUla’s hosting of the Endurance World Cup provides a powerful platform for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to share its story with the world, and AlUla stands out as a unique tourist destination with a story rooted in the Arab equestrian tradition. This global event is in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, as it reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to driving economic diversification and has a strong focus on the growth of the tourism sector.
The selection of AlUla Governorate to host the global event comes after the successes it has achieved in organizing endurance and endurance races, perhaps the most notable of which is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, the most expensive in the world, in which the most prominent riders in the world, representing more than 40 countries around the world, participated in its latest edition, and it received wide praise from the International Federation. For equestrian and participating countries.
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Equestrian Federation, Prince Abdullah bin Fahd, expressed his pride in the Kingdom hosting this global event and stressed that the unlimited support that Saudi equestrianism finds from the wise leadership is reaping its fruits today by making the Kingdom the world’s destination for major equestrian events. He said: “Long live equestrianism.”
The Kingdom is at its best at all levels. Our ability to host 3 international conferences (the World Cup for Horseback Shooting, the World Cup for Show Jumping and Dressage 2024, and now the World Cup for Endurance 2026) is only evidence of the Kingdom’s status and its ability to host the most prominent events. International, in addition to the distinguished results achieved by the Saudi riders, such as the show jumping team winning Asian gold for individuals and teams in the Asian Games, the peg shooting team winning the 2023 World Cup, and the horseback shooting team qualifying for the next World Cup.
Prince Abdullah bin Fahd thanked the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, for his continuous follow-up and keenness, as well as the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate for its wonderful organization of equestrian events. He considered the partnership of the Saudi Equestrian Federation with the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Governorate to be one of the successful partnerships that advances Saudi equestrianism. ».
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