The third edition of the Katara International Arabian Horse Festival (KIAHF 2023) witnessed the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani and HE Sheikh Hamad bin Suhaim al-Thani, in addition to a number of ambassadors.
As part of the events accompanying KIAHF 2023, the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara announced the winners of the first edition of the 'Poet of the Safinat' award.
The first prize of QR100,000 was won by Abdullah Fahd Abdullah al-Jedei from Kuwait, while Hamad Mukhalled al-Mutairi from Kuwait won the second prize of QR70,000. Faisal Namas al-Riyahi from Saudi Arabia was third and won a cash prize of QR50,000.
HE Prof Dr Khaled bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, general manager of Katara and chairman of the Organising Committee of the Katara International Arabian Horse Festival, handed over the awards to the three winners - the golden festival shield to the first winner, silver shield to the second-place winner, and bronze shield to the third-place winner.
The announcement of the winners was preceded by the qualified poets reciting their poems in front of the audience in the KIAHF main arena.
Poet Ibrahim al-Sheikhi al-Zahrani from the jury then delivered a speech initiating the announcement of the winners, during which he confirmed that the poets who had qualified for the award showed poetic prowess, in addition to their knowledge of purebred Arabian horses.
He expressed his deep thanks to Katara for its efforts in preserving the heritage of the nation and in linking the new generation with their belonging to the Arab nation, the source of their pride.
Ali bin Abdullah al-Misnad delivered a speech on behalf of the jury, during which he thanked Katara for holding this important literary event and in reviving an important aspect of the authentic Arab heritage, represented through equestrianism with Arabic poetry specialising in describing horses and their beauty.
Al-Misnad said, “I see equestrianism renewed with its new and modern face here at Katara, which brings us all together with the love of horses. The 'Poet of the Safinat' award has now joined our heritage in caring for and honouring horses."
Award winner al-Jedei expressed happiness at being present in this festival and said all qualified poets were creative and excelled in describing the beauty of horses.
Hamad Mukhlad al-Mutairi, the runner-up, said the award is unique and provides a new experience.
The jury comprised four poets, who are considered among the best exponents of Nabati poetry in the Gulf.
Al-Zahrani, a Nabatean poet and dialoguer, had been a judge in poetry competitions in Saudi Arabia. The second arbitration member, Nasser bin Thuwaini al-Ajmi, has adjudged in the Prophet’s Poet Competition and has many participations in the Arabian Gulf and Miami, US. The third member, Mubarak al-Khalifa, has supervised a number of poetry programmes and judged many poetry competitions, the most important of which is the Katara Award for the poet of the Messenger. The fourth member is Misfer bin Munikher al-Hajri, who has been a judge in the University Poet competition and the Swabih Fikr programme, besides having many other participations in Qatar and the Arab Gulf.