The first horseback archery competition (Al Nashaab Championship) organised by the Qatar Equestrian Federation and Modern Pentathlon was successfully held on Monday evening in co-operation with the Horseback Archery Society at the outdoor area of the Qatar Equestrian Federation.
A strong competition ensued where Badr Mubarak al-Marri emerged as the winner in the men’s category on his mount Mokhlis scoring 22.37 points. Abdulaziz al-Qahtani (also riding Mokhlis) finished second with 20.92 points, while Ali al-Kuwari on Izz Alzobara was third with a score of 19.51 points.
In the youth category, Abdullah al-Jumaili stood first on his horse Fajer with 20.72 points. Abdul Rahman al-Hajri on Izz Alzobara was second with 18.94 points, and Mohamed al-Jumaili on Fajer third with 18.65 points.
Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, President of the Asian and Qatari Equestrian Federations, and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the horseback archery Championship, praised the good turnout of horseback archers pointing out that the championship is one of the competitions that the federation aims to set up in order to support sports tourism in the country.
He added that the championship was successful since its first day of qualifiers as it witnessed a great competition between the horseback archers who showed high enthusiasm and skills in achieving their best results.
Al-Attiyah explained that the horseback archery competition is spread in many countries and is one of the heritage sports and is expected to grow in Qatar in the future. He noted that in the future the federation will work to host the championship at an international level and that QEF is happy to include it in the annual calendar.
Fouad al-Mudahka, the tournament director, said that the event achieved the success that the organising committee was aiming for in terms of the presence of a good number of participants at both youth and senior level.
He said that the organising committee will study the results of the first edition in order to prepare for its presence in the local calendar of the federation so that it is held annually and includes more than one round in the season.
Al-Mudahka, who is also the President of Horseback Archery Society, confirmed that Qatar is the third country in the region to organise these competitions, which has an international federation that includes more than 30 national federations, adding that the Horseback Archery Society along with the Qatar Equestrian Federation will work to prepare Qatari horseback archers to represent the national teams in international tournaments.
For the qualification skill test, participants had to aim at targets from a horseback in a 90m arena. Participants needed to have a passport for their horses who must be vaccinated and were required to clear a test before the event. Participants also had to obtain a rider’s ID from the technical office of the QEF.
Horseback archery is considered as one of the important upcoming sports activity in Qatar. The organisers aim to attract youth with such skills to take up the sport. A team from the Horseback Archery Society, represented by al-Mudhahka and Abdulaziz al-Qahtani, participated in the 15th edition of World Horse Shooting Championship in South Korea in 2019, where they achieved good results.
The team was participating for a third time in this event held at Sokcho in South Korea and had 69 competitors from 22 countries.
Al-Mudhahka said that the team was proud of the results and the appreciation they received from the international federation for developing the game in the Arab region.
President of the Asian and Qatar Equestrian Federations Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, tournament director Fouad al-Mudahka and QEF Secretary General Ali Al-Rumaihi pose with the podium finishers and other officials at the horseback archery competition (Al Nashaab Championship) at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s outdoor area.
